Family Portrait
by Sk8erGrl
Summary: Rory is a twentytwo year old single mom in her last year of Yale. Things are just beginning to get a bit interesting now when an old crush and the unknowing father of her child return into her life.
1. Hello, Goodbye

**Family Portrait ******

**A/N: **Alright, so I can't help myself. I got the idea recently and although I'm working on 'Changes' and 'Tale Untold' and 'Never the Same' my Buffy fic most of the time, and have put on hold two other of my GG stories I needed to do this one. My other stories will not suffer because of this I'm just trying to make my life more complicated. So, anyway tell me what you think. Is this story worth working on? I promise if you like this one I will work on it and update it as well as my other two that I've got going. I need something to do when I'm not at school.

**Summary: **Rory is a twenty-two year old single mom in her last year of Yale. Things are just beginning to get a bit interesting now when both an old crush and the unknowing father of her child return into her life.

**Rating: **PG-13 (It's precautionary)

**Spoiler: **Just mostly for the first, second and beginning of third.

**Chapter 1: Hello, Goodbye**

"I thought you would've been engaged by now." Rory Gilmore had hardly been paying attention to the speaker, but the words ran through her system. Yes, she was twenty-two years old attending Yale for her fourth and final year. Not only wasn't she engaged to anyone, she didn't even have a boyfriend. Her mind began to float back to how it came to be that here she was in the middle of a grocery store unattached when both Paris and Lane had boyfriends who could at any moment propose and her mother was married to Luke, none the less.

She had been seventeen with the perfect relationship and a bright future. Everything seemed right her life at Stars Hollow. That was until Jess Mariano came to town. At first she thought he was a menace. Just another Tristan to torture her, but as time went one she began to grow closer to him and apart from everyone else in her life. They didn't understand what there was between them. After the accident and the kiss Rory tried to figure out herself what there actually was about Jess that drove her to New York to see him and to kiss him when he returned. In Washington he had been all she could think about. After returning home and seeing him with Shane working on her relationship with Dean seemed like the better way to go.

The year she turned eighteen and started her final year at Chilton changed the rest of her life. It was at a twenty-four hour dance marathon that Dean first expressed that he knew there was something between Rory and Jess. As everyone had danced around them Rory and Jess bickered. The bickering hadn't gotten past Dean and they had broken up. Rory and Jess were free to finally be with each other.

Rory remembered with a smile the lectures Jess had received from her mother and Luke. They were watched carefully to make sure Jess didn't hurt Rory. Lorelai hadn't been too happy about their relationship but eventually had to get used to it. Jess and Rory fit together perfectly and didn't fight about the stupid things, most of the time. They argued about novels and authors. Rory and Jess had something unique that no one would or could understand.

Weeks after Rory and Jess began dating Lorelai and Luke finally admitted their true feeling for each other. It was partly due to Jess and Rory's relationship. The two had begun to spend much more time with each other and in the process of think about how Rory and Jess had tried to be friends the whole time while liking each other they realized it was the same with them. Surprisingly it wasn't Lorelai who admitted it first. It was Luke.

The main event that would later affect Rory's life came around Christmas time. It was the eve of Christmas Eve and the town was a flutter with the day before the day before Christmas celebrations. Jess and Rory snuck away from the festivities and went to "talk" in the apartment above the diner. They were still able to hear the booming Christmas music from there. Luke had long ago been dragged out by Lorelai with a thermos full of coffee, reluctantly, to join the town and their Christmas Spirit. When Rory decided that this was the time to show Jess that she had really found someone she hoped to spend forever with Jess had been unsure, but eventually gave in thinking it was what Rory had really wanted. They woke up in the morning in each others arms. Thankfully, Luke had not come home or had just managed to not notice the two.

A month later when Rory realized that she was "late" she panicked. When it was confirmed after not one but three pregnancy tests that she was after all carrying a child Rory panicked even more. She did not know whether to tell Jess or her mother first or even to tell Jess at all. The issue of what would become of her dreams of the future also arose. In the end Rory decided that it was best that Jess did not know and would not find out. So, she broke up with him and chased him out of town telling him she never wanted to see him again. Of course Rory knew she was chasing the man of her dreams away, but couldn't help it. They were both better off this way. Jess would never understand why Rory had urged him to leave and had been so bitter but he had obeyed her anyways and stayed away from her and Stars Hollow.

When Lorelai found out about the predicament Rory was in, she flipped and swore to kill that little menace. Of course, she couldn't because by pure wit Rory had gotten him to go back to New York. Lorelai could understand why she didn't want Jess to know, but she didn't feel that it was right letting him go around without knowing that he had a kid on its way. They had other things to worry about at the moment though. Like telling Richard and Emily Gilmore that Harvard was a thing of the past.

Emily and Richard Gilmore were not as shocked by the news as Lorelai and Rory had thought entering the Gilmore home. They were though, probably, more angry. Emily blamed Lorelai for Rory's pregnancy saying that she should have listened and kept Rory away from Jess, and she blamed Lorelai that Rory's future was no more. Richard surprised them all by saying it wasn't. Then, he ordered them to follow him and they drove over to Chilton. Rory couldn't understand why they were there but followed her grandfather. Together the Gilmores and headmaster Charleston came up with a deal. They would have Rory on a one month trial basis. If Rory's mark did not slip and she concealed her pregnancy as long as possible she could remain at Chilton. Richard also insisted that if she could do this then with his pull at Yale Rory could attend there in the fall after the baby was born. Rory knew she could do this. The headmaster also suggested that Paris be there to help her seeing as they had spent the summer in Washington together. Rory agreed.

Paris hadn't been pleased by the news that Rory was pregnant and she was to help make sure Rory didn't slip up, but in time she got better. When they received admittance letters Rory was thrilled that Yale had accepted her. Rebelling against her parents' wishes Paris decided to attend Yale as well. Paris helped make sure that no one found out about the pregnancy and during the months of morning sickness Paris helped with a cover up. The two were becoming close. Lane and Luke were also great about all of this. At every appointment Lane, Luke, Lorelai and Paris followed Rory to make see how the baby was doing. They were all getting quite excited about finding out the sex of the baby. Although Rory was only eighteen she felt that she was ready for this challenge even though it might change her future plans.

The day they were to find out the sex, the five of them were accompanied by Jamie and Dave who were let in on the secret. On the car ride there they all piled into the car and began to play a name game. They continued to play as they waited for Rory to come and tell them the news. Rory came out of the examining room with a bright grin on her face. The baby was going to be a girl. Lorelai immediately jumped up and shouted "it's a Lorelai" at the top of her lungs.

Rory gave birth a month early in August to her little girl Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore the fourth. They came up with the nickname Liza using her middle name. Everyone present at the birth new this little one was going to be a true Gilmore. Seeing as Liza was born premature both Rory and the baby spent a week in the hospital. When they left they began to think about who was to take care of the baby during Rory's classes. It was decided that Lorelai would until Rory could find a decent baby sitter.

Lorelai, Rory, Paris and Liza moved into an apartment not far from Yale in New Haven. It was a three bedroom apartment. The third extra room was made into a guestroom and rather large sun room was going to be the baby's room. Emily and Richard donated some money into the apartment, Lorelai donated some, Paris and Luke also gave some money. They had all made sure that the apartment was a nice, safe and a big one. Paris and Rory loved it.

Lorelai was finally able to move home when Rory hired a nanny for the baby. The nanny took care of Liza whenever Rory and Paris went to class. When Rory departed for work Paris watched Liza. As time went on the arrangement seemed to fit well. Now, three years later the nanny had left and Jamie moved in. Jamie had recently finished Princeton and offered to move in and take care of Liza. Lorelai and Luke had a son named Lucas, who was a two years old, and Lorelai was four months pregnant with twins. Although things had seemed simple these past four years they weren't going to stay that way. Things were just starting to get interesting.


	2. Grocery Store Meetings

**Family Portrait **

**A/N: **I made some changes to the first chapter. Added things here and there just so you know and don't get confused because I forgot to mention a few things in the last chapter so I fixed that up if you wanted to go back and check it out. It's only two little things. Also, sorry it took me so long to get this written. I just had a little trouble lately and wasn't able to write. I hope this next chapter is as well received as the other one. Thank you all who reviewed.

**Chapter 2: Grocery Store Meetings. **

Rory Gilmore lay sound asleep in her bed. Darkness shrouded her room except for a crack of light sneaking in from the hall light that was on every night. The small crack widened until it reached the bed and lighted Rory's sleeping face. A small girl with bouncy dark brown hair walked further into the room approaching the bed. Rubbing her eyes she climbed in and curled up close to Rory. "Liza," Rory groaned opening her eyes "Couldn't sleep again?"

"Momma I have bad dreams," Liza whined.

"Okay, curl up close," Rory ordered lifting up the covers. Liza's little body slipped right in next to her mother. Rory kissed the top of her head and smiled reaching over for the telephone on the bed-side table. She picked it up and dialled some very familiar numbers.

_"Hello?" Luke's gruff voice answered on the other end. Lorelai's giggles could be heard in the background. _

"Luke, can I talk to my mom?" Rory wondered.

_"Right on time!"__ Lorelai exclaimed. Luke's protests could be heard now. _

"Mom, did you grab the phone from Luke?" Rory asked, scolding.

_"Yeah, but I think Lucas is up anyway," Lorelai sighed, "And I'm guessing so is Liza?" _

"Yup, just crawled into bed with me," Rory smiled down at her daughter, "Sometimes I think she's just lying about those bad dreams so she can sleep with mommy."

_"Then she's a true Gilmore," Lorelai responded, "I remember a certain daughter of mine doing the same thing." _

"How are the twins doing?" Rory asked, "Didn't you have an appointment yesterday?"

_"Well, they're fraternal," Lorelai replied, "And it's a boy and a girl." _

"Whoa, I remember a certain dream going something like this," Rory laughed.

_"I know I had a real Bill Murray moment this morning when Luke came down," Lorelai sighed, "He kissed my stomach and everything."_

"Weird," Rory stated.

_"Well babes, Lucas want his mother," Lorelai groaned, "Love you." _

"Love you too," Rory saluted and hung up the phone before turning back to go to sleep. Almost every Friday night Liza had a bad dream and came to sleep with Rory. When she did so, Rory would call Lorelai and chat a while about how the twins were doing, or Lucas or about anything else either Gilmore girls could think of. Soon after they hung up Rory fell sound asleep once again.

"Rory!" Paris Gellar exclaimed passing by Rory's room the next morning. Paris glanced in the room to find, as she expected, both Rory and Liza curled up in bed. Jamie appeared next to Paris and slipped his arms around her.

"Peaceful aren't they?" he whispered.

"Ask me six years ago whether Rory and I would be friends I would've said no," Paris sighed, "I hated Rory. Now, look at me. I'm living with her and her four year old daughter."

"Closer than you thought you'd get huh?" Jamie inquired.

"Yeah," Paris nodded, "Although then I would've also thought I'd be going to Harvard and still single."

"Well, you never can predict the future," Jamie smiled. Rory began to stir in her sleep, slowly rising. Liza on the other hand snapped awake in less than two second rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"G'morning," she greeted sleepily.

"Good morning Liza," Jamie greeted.

"What time is it?" Rory's groaned her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Nine so get up and get dressed," Paris commanded. Another groan could be heard. Liza was already up on her feel prancing around the room towards the two adults standing in the doorway.

"I want breakfast," Liza muttered. Jamie took Liza's little hand and led her to the kitchen to give her some food. Paris remained in the door as Rory buried her head farther into her pillow.

"Grocery day," Paris commented, "Get up. The quicker we get it over with the quicker we can head down to Stars Hollow."

"Not our weekend remember?" Rory yawned sitting up.

"No, but since this weekend your mom can't come up we can go down," Paris put in, "I'm sure both she and Luke would be happy to see you. Plus isn't it Lane's weekend in Stars Hollow?" This got Rory out of bed quickly.

"I'm up!" she exclaimed, "I'm up. I'm getting dressed and I'm calling my mom."

"Good," Paris nodded moving away, "I'm going to make sure Jamie doesn't let Liza get away with picking out her own breakfast."

"Oh god, please! Quickly!" Rory panicked, "I don't want another chocolate cake with ice cream incident!" Last time Jamie gave Liza she chose chocolate cake with ice cream. The rest of the day Liza had a stomach ache, and threw it all up in the middle of a store.

As soon as Paris left the room Rory pounced on the phone and dialled in her mother's number. _"Hey this is Lorelai. Obviously I'm not home and neither is my hubby the ice man. So, leave a message if you're someone I know!" _

"Mom?" Rory tested, "Hey, either you are actually out or you just can't find the phone anywhere. Did you under the couch this time? Anyway, Paris had this idea that we could come up and see you since you can't make it. So, see you later Gilmore. Love you!"

_(Meanwhile at the Gilmore/Danes residence)_

"NO! NO! NO!" Lorelai shouted at the answering machine jumping up and down with the newly retrieved phone.

"Who was on the phone?" Luke came down the stairs holding Lucas in his arms.

"No one," Lorelai lied, pressing the delete button on the machine.

"Lorelai, you lost the phone again didn't you?" Luke interrogated.

"No, no its right here see!" Lorelai held out the phone in front of her. Luke shook his head putting Lucas down on the couch.

"Look, I've got to go get dressed and open the diner," Luke sighed, "Thank god Jess is coming down to help me out for a while."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded slowly. She couldn't tell Luke that Rory had just decided to come.

"Lorelai, remember you promised not to bite his head off," Luke warned.

"I won't," Lorelai made a face. She wished she could. "I know that when he found out that things were hard for you because of Lucas and me pregnant he offered to come down for a while. I know he's taking some time off school to help. I appreciate that he's trying to take some of the stress off. It's just that he got my baby pregnant!"

"Yes, but remember he doesn't know he did," Luke pointed out, "So, there shall be no mention of Liza remember? We all promised Rory."

"Fine," Lorelai gave in plopping down on the couch, arms crossed.

_(Back at __Paris__ and Rory's apartment.)_

Rory emerged from her room combing her hair back into a pony tail. Liza was sitting on her knees on a chair at the table playing with her cereal. Jamie was cooking toast and Paris was reading the newspaper. "Hey," Rory greeted, "I called my mom but I got the answering machine. We'll just have to stop by and surprise them if they didn't get the message."

"Alright," Paris nodded.

"So, we're all headed to Stars Hollow then?" Jamie wondered.

"Well, you guys don't have to come," Rory mentioned, "Lane and Dave will be there if mom and Luke get too much for me."

"We're coming," Paris assured Rory, "I haven't been there in a while. It's better than other plans I could've had this weekend."

"Alright," Rory nodded. Their glances all moved over to where Liza sat. She had been awfully quiet, and that usually meant she was causing trouble. Rory rushed over to her just as she began to tip her bowl onto the floor. "Come on honey, time to clean up."

"Okay," Liza nodded eagerly getting up to follow her mother.

The group was ready a half hour later. Rory sat Liza in the back of the car in her car seat before getting in the passengers seat. Jamie stood at the window of the driver's door where Paris sat. "I don't see why we need to get groceries if we're not going to be here all weekend," he commented.

"If we don't get the groceries today then when we come back they'll be no food and we won't have time to shop because we're at school," Paris pointed out.

"I could do this during the week," Jamie offered.

"You say that every week," Paris sighed, "And every week is the same answer. No, you have other things to do."

"Then, just let me take care of Liza," Jamie tried.

"No," Rory interjected, "Grocery shopping, or shopping of any kind is a Gilmore tradition. Together we shop."

"Okay," Jamie caved backing away from the car, "See you later."

The three of them pulled out of the driveway and headed in the direction of the shopping center. When they arrived Paris grabbed a carriage while Rory unbuckled Liza. Every second week the three of them would come out and do this. Paris always had a list and Rory shopped on impulse. At the end they had a bunch of foods from all the major food groups, and the more. "I need more cereal," Liza pulled on her mother's shirt. She had long ago refused to sit in the carriage while they shopped.

"I'll take her," Paris took Liza's hand, "I need something down there anyway." Rory nodded and moved to the coffee aisle.

"Ok, which one shall I take," she muttered to herself not noticing the man that came to stand behind her. When she chose her coffee, she reached over to take it, but the man grabbed her hand. Startled Rory looked up and rolled her eyes. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that twinkled with mischief.

"Well, well we meet again Mary," he chuckled, "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough, obviously," Rory groaned, "Still don't know my name Tristan?"

"What no ring?" Tristan still held her hand. Rory pulled away. "I though you would've been engaged by now."

"Well, I'm not," Rory said quickly, after a while.

"Boyfriend?" he wondered.

"What are you doing in New Haven anyway?" Rory dodged the question.

"I'll take that as a no," Tristan grinned, "I'm visiting a friend. He's shopping around for junk for this party he wants to have."

"Well, I better get going then," Rory grabbed a tin of coffee and began to walk away.

"So, you going to Yale?" he chased her.

"Tristan, I really don't have time for this," Rory sighed, "I've got to finish this off and get home."

"And where is this home of yours?" Tristan smirked suggestively.

"MOMMY!" Liza ran gleefully towards Rory who scooped her up. Tristan looked curiously at the two.

"Where's Paris honey?" Rory asked, ignoring Tristan.

"Coming," Liza replied, "She chose yucky cereal."

"Liza, Rory!" Paris approached them pushing the carriage along, "God she just- Tristan?"

"Well, I'll be damned," Tristan shook his head, "I come here and fine Mary and Paris shopping together."

"We share an apartment together," Rory explained.

"And this little one?" Tristan motioned towards Liza.

"This is my daughter Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore," Rory introduced, "Honey this is Tristan. Mommy went to school with him."

"Where's her father?" Tristan asked. When Rory shrugged he muttered, "Idiot."

"No, he doesn't know about Liza here," Rory told him, "I never told him."

"It's not bag boy is it?" Tristan seemed to grimace at the mention of Dean.

"No, we broke up and I got together with this other guy," Rory sighed. She couldn't understand why she was telling Tristan all this. She had hated him so much when she had known him in school, although she had always had a little crush on him. She hadn't dated much after Liza was born. She was still in love with Jess, despite all that happened.

"Rory, we got to go," Paris interrupted, "Jamie will be waiting for us and we've got to drive down to Stars Hollow this afternoon."

"Right," Rory nodded, "Well nice catching up with you Tristan."

"Wait, how long will you be in Stars Hollow?" he asked.

"Two days," Rory answered, "We should be back Sunday."

"Here's my number," he handed her a piece of paper; "I'll be gone by then, but maybe we could get together some other time."

"Maybe," Rory took the paper and delicately placed it in her purse before walking off.

"Mommy, is he your Jamie?" Liza wondered. Rory smiled slightly knowing exactly what Liza meant my 'her Jamie'. Paris and Jamie were in love, Lane and Dave were in love, and her mother and Luke were in love. Liza had grown up with all these people in love. She wasn't quite sure whether Tristan was 'her Jamie'. She knew though that even though she had always had a crush on Tristan no guy could replace how she felt about Jess. She knew she wouldn't be seeing Jess for a long time though.

She was wrong about that.


	3. Home Sweet Home

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Alright, thank you everyone who reviewed. I am so happy that you are enjoying this story. The whole Rory/Jess encounter should be coming up but there will be a lot of trying to keep them apart first. Remember this: Luke does not know that Rory is coming to town. Let the fun begin!

**Chapter 3: Home Sweet Home**

Rory sat in the back seat of the fully packed car. It had been decided unanimously that Jamie would drive the one hour to Stars Hollow and back. Paris was seated in the passenger's seat reading an assignment both girls had received the previous morning at Yale. Rory glanced over at her daughter who was playing with the leap-frog she had received from Richard and Emily for her birthday. Her long, dark, wavy brown hair tumbled over her face as she tried to read her current book. Her brilliant blue eyes with the sprinkles of brown were full of concentration. Sometimes it was hard to tell who she resembled more at this age. "I'm going to call Lane and see if she'll meet us at Luke's in a half hour," Rory mentioned pulling out her cell phone. Paris and Jamie nodded acknowledgement. Rory pressed the speed dial button on her phone.

_"Hello you've reached Lane Kim drummer extraordinaire," Lane's spunkiness filled the other line. _

"Hey stranger," Rory greeted her best friend.

_"Hey! Where are you?" Lane wondered. _

"In a car on the way to Stars Hollow," Rory grinned.

_"Oh my god!"__ Lane's voice glistened with excitement, "We're almost there now."_

"Meet us at Luke's?" Rory asked.

_"You bet!" Lane exclaimed, "Oh, got to go. I forgot to recharge my cell so my batteries are low. Bye!" _

"Bye!" Rory saluted before hanging up the phone. Rory couldn't have been happier to be returning home for the weekend.

"Mommy, can I have Boo?" Liza whined, pushing the book off her lap.

"Sure babe," Rory nodded, reaching into Liza's backpack and pulled out a teddy bear handing it over to Liza's outreached hand. Boo was Liza's favourite bear. Luke had given it to her when she was born and since then they had been practically inseparable.

Rory glanced around the car once more before she pulled out her current novel and begun to read away as they drove closer and closer to Stars Hollow and what she thought would be a rather fun weekend.

_(Meanwhile over at Luke's Diner.)_

"Hello Uncle Luke!" Jess entered the diner a duffle bag over his shoulder, smirking.

"It's just Luke!" Luke grunted shaking his head. Lorelai pivoted on her stool to face Jess, a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Lorelai," Jess nodded towards her.

"Jess," Lorelai returned the acknowledgement before turning to Lucas sat on the stool next to her quietly.

"Is that the little one?" Jess inquired.

"That's little Lucas Gilmore-Danes," Lorelai nodded forcing a smile, "And the Gilmore-Danes twins are right in here." Lorelai patted the small lump of her stomach.

"Well, I'm here to help aren't I?" Jess placed his bag on the stairs that led to the apartment above the diner, "So, where do you want me?"

"Work out there at the tables," Luke ordered.

"OH! And get me some coffee, please," Lorelai begged.

"No, you're pregnant," Luke shook his head, "It's either decaf or tea."

"Not fair!" Lorelai pouted, "You let Ro-" Thankfully she was cut off before she could finish her sentence, and Lane burst into the diner.

"Hello Stars Hollow!" Lane shouted.

"Hello Lane!" Lorelai hollered and the two embraced in a hug, "You're here! Where's Dave?"

"He's coming!" Lane grinned, "I'm just so excited to see Ro-" Lane stopped as she noticed Jess standing there. "What's he doing here?" she whispered to Lorelai. Luke looked curiously at the two girls and put two and two together.

"Jess, get upstairs!" he instructed, "Get settled in or something."

"But-" Jess began to protest but gave up, and shaking his head went on his way upstairs.

"Lorelai, is Rory coming down this weekend?" Luke interrogated.

"Nope," Lorelai lied. Luke then turned to Lane. He knew she couldn't lie to him.

"Lane?" he questioned. Lane tried to hold out on him. She shifted from leg to leg but finally gave in.

"Yes," she sighed, "She called me from the car and told me to meet her here."

"How long have you known?" Luke turned back to Lorelai.

"Since this morning," Lorelai confided, "She called, but I couldn't reach the phone and I didn't want to call her back. Luke, if she found out Jess would be down here for a week I wouldn't hear from her for a whole week. I couldn't live with that."

"So, why is Jess here anyways?" Lane put in as Dave entered the diner.

"To help me," Luke replied.

"Dave!" Lorelai exclaimed noticing him approach them, "HI!"

"Hello Lorelai," Dave nodded and wrapped his arms around Lane, "What's going on?"

"Jess is here," Lane filled him in. Dave was wide-eyed and speechless.

"What are we going do?" Dave wondered.

"They're driving meaning they're going to drive right up to the diner," Lorelai began, "So, why don't we meet her outside with coffee and take them over to the house."

"Wait, I want to see the kid," Luke protested, "It's been two weeks and kids at that age seem to grow fast."

"Softie," Lorelai accused.

"Jess is supposed to come over for supper tonight remember?" Luke ignored Lorelai's previous comment, "So, not only do we have to worry about hiding all our pictures of Liza but about Liza herself."

"No, see we could send them to my parents' house," Lorelai offered, "We know they'll find out Rory's here and be upset that she didn't visit."

"We still have the whole 'she's coming to the diner' bit to worry about," Lane pointed out.

"How long do we have?" Dave inquired.

"Around a half hour to fifteen minutes," Lane answered.

"Great," the other three mumbled as Jess returned from upstairs and Lucas started to grow impatient. The four knew this would be a long weekend.

_(Meanwhile just outside Stars Hollow.) _

"Hickory Dickory Dock," Liza began chanting, half asleep. Rory began thinking that maybe she would be asleep in fifteen minutes.

"Doesn't she know another nursery rhyme?" Paris groaned. An hour in the car with a four year old is a lot to be asking. Although they had done this every two weeks since they had started at Yale it still got to them all now and then.

"She'll fall asleep soon," Rory muttered, "Then it'll be quiet once again." Half way through the nursery song the third time around Liza stopped and her eyelids began to droop. A minute later she was sound asleep.

"Finally," Jamie heaved a sigh of relief.

"Do we have anymore coffee in the thermos?" Rory wanted to know.

"No, the last cup you had finished it," Paris replied. They looked out the window to see the sign bearing _Welcome to Stars Hollow _on it. Rory smiled and looked out on her small town. She saw familiar townspeople walking about and whispering to one another. Then her eye caught sight of Luke's where Lane, Dave, Luke and her mother were probably waiting for her.

"We're here," Jamie announced parking the car in front of the small diner.

"Finally," Paris opened the passenger's door and got out, "I'm going ahead in while you get Liza out alright?"

"Sure," Rory nodded. Jamie and Paris both shut their doors and headed into the diner as Rory sat a minute and began to unbuckle Liza in her seat without waking her right away.

_(Inside the Diner.)_

The bells on the door jangled and every one's eyes but Jess' and Lucas' went directly towards the door. Paris and Jamie stepped in and looked oddly at the familiar crowd. Panicked looks crossed the faces of all immediately and the couple did not understand why until they finally noticed Jess. "Shit," Paris managed to mutter. The rest raised and inquisitive eyebrow. Paris and Jamie nodded towards the car.

"Lorelai and I will distract her," Lane jumped off the stool, "Luke, you know what you've got to do." Luke nodded as Lorelai picked up Lucas and followed Lane out of the diner. Jess looked curiously at the remaining four.

"Jess, go around back to Taylor's," Luke ordered, "I need a head of lettuce." Jess shook his head in disbelief as he headed towards the back door.

"Why's he here?" Paris asked.

"To help," Dave replied for Luke. Paris and Jamie nodded and Rory along with Lane, Lorelai, Lucas and a sleepy Liza.

"Hey!" Luke greeted them. Liza's eyes darted around the crowd and she smiled bashfully.

"Hi Luke," Rory waved taking a seat at the counted, "Can I get a coffee, a donut and some milk for Liza?"

"Milk for a Gilmore," Lorelai laughed, "Give the kid a coffee. If I can't have any she certainly should."

"Lorelai, she's four," Luke grunted.

"Plus, she hasn't had any coffee yet," Rory mentioned, "Luke asked Lane who asked Paris to make sure she didn't get any until she was old enough to decide for herself what she wants to drink."

"That's preposterous!" Lorelai exclaimed, "A Gilmore can't be deprived of coffee Lukey deary. Just look at what it's done to me!"

"You're just as kooky without the coffee," Luke shook his head.

"That's because I found the secret stash at home," Lorelai grinned, "You can't hide it from me. I have a nose to find it."

"Fine, I'll just take all the coffee from the house," Luke threw back, "And that way there will be none and the whole town knows better than to give you some." Lorelai pouted and Luke handed Rory her order. Just then the back door creaked open. Paris, Dave, Jamie and Luke shared a look. Lorelai and Lane caught on fast. Jess was back from his errand.

"Let's go see Sookie!" Lorelai grabbed her purse and Lucas, "She's dying to see you two." Confused, Rory shrugged and followed her mother taking Liza's hand. Lane and Paris went with the two while Jamie, Dave and Luke stayed behind in the diner. The front entrance closed just as Jess appeared behind the counter.

"Here's your lettuce," he placed the leaves down and went to clean up some tables. Jamie and Dave ordered something to eat as they sat there.

_(In the Streets of Stars Hollow.)_

Liza seemed wide awake after their visit at Luke's and was skipping around. Rory held firmly onto her hand. Although it wasn't likely that Liza would get lost for very long Rory was just feeling protective of her. "Grams," Liza whined, "Can Lucas walk?

"Yes," Lorelai nodded shifting Lucas in her arms.

"So, put him down," Liza suggested, "I promise I'll hold his hand."

"No honey I think I'll just hold him until we get to Sookie's," Lorelai shook head. Liza frowned, but let it go.

"Um...Rory," Lorelai bit her lip, "I think you should probably take Liza over to see your grandparents."

"I was panning on stopping by on the way home," Rory told her mother, "I haven't seen you in a week."

"Well, Luke and I are kind of having company over for supper," Lorelai explained.

"Oh," Rory furrowed her eyebrows, "Alright then. So, what are you guys planning on doing tonight?" Rory turned to her two friends.

"I'm not sure yet," Lane shrugged, "But I'd be more than happy to spend the night with you. It's been too long." Rory nodded in agreement.

"Rory!" Sookie raced out from her house a huge grin on her face, "Honey how have you been?"

"Good," Rory hugged Sookie. It surprised Rory that even though she had only been absent from the town a week she tended to forget its craziness, and, like her mother always said, she expected it to look completely different every time she retuned. It never was though.

The four women and the two kids entered the house. Jackson was out back working in the garden and their daughter, Rosie, sat on her knees coloring. She was a year younger than Liza. Rosie slid off her chair and approached Liza. "Now can Lucas come play with us?" Liza looked up at Lorelai. Lorelai nodded and placed Lucas on the floor.

"Mama!" Lucas reached upwards trying to get Lorelai to pick him up again.

"Go play with Liza and Rosie Lukey honey," Lorelai told her son. Lucas sighed as he was dragged away by the two girls to Rosie's room.

"How's college treating you two?" Sookie questioned once the kids were out of the room.

"It's tough, but it's the last year," Rory replied.

"Yeah, it's great to have Jamie though," Paris smiled secretively, "He's a big help."

"All men are very helpful at times," Sookie giggled, "Very, very helpful."

"Sookie!" Lorelai, Rory, Lane and Paris exclaimed.

"It's true though," Sookie defended. All girls nodded slowly.

"Speaking of men," Paris put in after a while, "Rory and I ran into someone from back at Chilton earlier today."

"Who?" Lane wanted to know.

"Tristan," Rory murmured.

"Really you ran into the Spawn of Satan?" Lorelai raised and eyebrow inquisitively.

"Bible Boy himself," Rory nodded, "And he gave me his number."

"Does he know you have a four year old kid?" Lane asked.

"Yeah," Rory nodded affirmative, "He gave me the number after he met her."

The girls continued to talk until Jackson came in and declared that he was going to get Rosie ready for supper. Lorelai and Rory went on their way to fetch Liza and Lucas to go. Then they said their good-byes to Sookie and promised to visit before they left. On their way back to the diner they ran into Dave and Jamie.

"Hey," Lane grinned kissing Dave, "What do you want to do tonight?" Dave shrugged.

"We could always see a movie," Lorelai suggested.

"We could," Rory nodded in agreement, "Would you take Liza and put her to bed though?" Lorelai hesitated a moment before nodding. If Liza was upstairs asleep, safely, there was no way Jess could find her as long as he didn't go upstairs or Liza woke up.

"Sure," she sighed shifting Lucas so that one hand was free, "Go on you crazy twenty-two year olds. Go bar hopping or something."

"Later mom," Rory rolled her eyes and kissed Liza on the forehead, "Be good for Grandma." Liza nodded and the two headed off towards the Gilmore-Danes home.

_(At the Gilmore-Danes Residence.)_

Lorelai burst into the house and called out Luke's name. He wasn't home yet. She heaved a sigh of relief and dropped Liza's hand. There was a lot that had to be done. She had better start with feeding the kids and getting them to bed. At five-thirty both Liza and Lucas were clean and safely tucked in and sleeping. Phase two was getting all pictures of Liza hidden safely. Lorelai pulled out a basket and began delicately placing any signs of Liza's existence away. She paused as she came upon a picture of a very pregnant Rory. The picture had been taken a week before Liza was born. Jamie come down to see Paris and the two came to see Rory. In the picture Lane had her ear on Rory's stomach and Dave stood smiling behind her. Paris and Jamie were on the opposite side, Jamie's arms wrapped around Paris while Lorelai lay sprawled by Rory's feet. It had taken a lot to get the picture done. It was one of her favourites.

Finally, when all seemed done Luke and Jess walked through the front door. Lorelai heaved the biggest sigh of relief she could as she rolled over on the couch. Luke went over to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. Lorelai smiled at this. "Hey," she mumbled, "Have a good day?"

"It was fine," Luke shrugged, "Is Lucas in bed?" Lorelai nodded and slowly sat up.

"Did you bring home food?" Lorelai wanted to know. Luke nodded and held up a bag of Chinese food, "OH! YAY! We should have Jess over more often!"

"Long day?" Jess asked.

"Yes! I don't think the stress I've had is good for the babies," Lorelai groaned.

"Your own fault," Luke grunted. Lorelai made a face as Luke headed towards kitchen to set up supper. Jess began to stroll around the living room gazing at the pictures that remained of Rory, and Lucas. He stopped and furrowed his eyes brows in front of one picture. Lorelai's eyes widened as she realized that she had forgotten on of Liza's baby pictures.

"Who's this?" he picked up the frame and faced it towards Lorelai, "It doesn't look like the other baby pictures of Rory and Lucas."

"She's a relative," Lorelai said. It wasn't a lie, Liza was her granddaughter. She just hoped Jess didn't ask how they were related. He didn't ask anything though. Jess shrugged and placed the picture back where it had been. "I'll be right back," Lorelai approached the kitchen, "I need to talk to Luke a second. Sit down make yourself comfortable. Do you want a soda, or beer seeing as you're legal now?"

"I'm fine," Jess sat on the couch as Lorelai disappeared into the kitchen.

"Luke," Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke as he tried to place more food onto a plate, "Liza's sleeping upstairs in our bed."

"What?" Luke whirled around, "Jess is right in the living room."

"I know, but Rory is out with the others and they couldn't take her," Lorelai explained, "It'll be fine. She's sleeping."

"Lorelai, she's a four year old girl," Luke pointed out, "What if she wakes up?"

"We'll lie," Lorelai flashed Luke a smile and picked up a plate of General Tao chicken and began to eat. Luke grabbed the plate and replaced it on the table. "Jess! Come and eat," Lorelai shouted as she grabbed another piece of chicken.

Dinner was silent and the three of them ate. Lorelai tried to be fine and dandy about everything while Luke tried to mediate the two. Finally, as they Lorelai polished off her late the worst happened. A piercing scream rang through the house. Lorelai and Luke shared a look knowing that it was not Lucas who had woken up. Jess curiously looked between the two as they fits of crying floating down to them. Liza had had a bad dream.


	4. Seeing You Again

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Alright, as always I'm going to start off by thanking everyone who reviewed. I'm really glad that you're all enjoying this because I certainly am enjoying writing this. Alright, so let's begin!

**Chapter 4: Seeing you Again**

Both Lorelai and Luke had frozen not daring to move or speak. Jess put his chopsticks down and once again looked between the couple before finally getting up. Lorelai noticed this and immediately jumped up. "Where are you going?" she quizzed.

"To see what the kid wants," Jess replied, "I mean listen to that screaming."

"You know, I think I'll go," Lorelai said. She rushed out of the kitchen and took each step to at a time to reach upstairs while Jess took his seat back at the table. Luke coughed and returned to picking at his rice. The crying seemed to quiet down slightly for a few seconds before Lorelai came back bounding down the stairs. "Boo!" she yelled all the way down.

"What?" Jess looked to Luke, confused. Luke shrugged, equally confused.

"Luke! Luke!" Lorelai appeared in the kitchen, "Where is Boo?"

"Who's Boo, Lorelai?" Luke asked beginning to pick up the empty plates.

"The bear," Lorelai elaborated, "The two are inseparable. God! You'd think at this age the kid would've stopped crying like that. I mean sure she's in a strange place and her mom's not here but seriously! Where's the bear? He's soft and fluffy and doesn't have the normal bear hair. You got it especially for her and gave it to her after she was born. She named it Boo."

"I don't know," Luke shrugged, "I haven't seen the bear."

"I need the bear!" Lorelai exclaimed jumping from foot to foot, "She won't shut up without the bear!" Both of them seemed to forget that Jess was in the room with them.

"I don't know where the bear is!" Luke shouted.

"Check under the couch!" Lorelai ran into the living room and began looking all around. Jess watched the two slightly amused.

"Lorelai, I don't think the bear is under the couch," Luke shook his head. She was impossible.

"Was Jamie's car in front of the diner still?" Lorelai wondered, "Because if it was they must still be in town."

"Or they took Lane's car," Luke offered. Lorelai glared at him for ruining hope of finding Rory and getting Boo to make Liza be quiet.

"Hey, is there something I could do?" Jess stepped forward. Lorelai's eyes widened as she remembered Jess was still there. Then the patter of little footsteps came closer and closer and they heard some snivelling. Lorelai glanced towards the stairs and saw a tiny foot appear. Lorelai raced to the stairs and made it up in record time. Jess shook his head as he followed Luke back to the kitchen. "I know," Jess stated.

"What?" Luke turned to face Jess with a worried look on his face.

"That Rory's here," Jess continued, "I'm not naïve."

"Oh," Luke sighed.

"Why else would Paris and Jamie be here?" Jess finished, "Or why everyone was acting crazier than normal in the diner. I know you didn't need lettuce."

"Well..." Luke didn't know what else to say. He couldn't quite explain to Jess why they didn't want him around Rory. He had a daughter and Luke believed Jess should know about her, but it was Rory's choice to not tell Jess about Liza.

"Mom!" a voice yelled from the front door which had been flung open. A curious Jess and Luke appeared in the archway between the kitchen and living room. Lorelai, holding on to the banister, peered down from upstairs as well. Rory had in her hands the bear that hung limply in her hands as she froze noticing Jess standing there in the house.

"Rory, I can-" Lorelai began tumbling down the stairs to greet her daughter at the door.

"I...I was on my way to eat," Rory stuttered pulling her glance away from Jess, "And I remembered I had Boo. So...here." Rory shoved the bear into her mother's arms. Liza's hiccups could be heard now in between sobs. "Oh god," Rory muttered as she scampered up the stairs and Lorelai followed quickly behind her.

_(Upstairs.) _

Liza was strolling down the hall rubbing the tears from her eyes. Rory raced over to her and hugged her tightly. Lorelai tapped Rory on the shoulder as Rory pulled away from Liza and took Boo from Lorelai and led Liza back to bed. "Mom, why didn't you tell me?" Rory asked after Liza was safely tucked in.

"I was afraid that you wouldn't call me all week," Lorelai confessed, "And then when you got here I didn't know how you'd react to Jess staying here all week to help us out. When you asked if I could take care of her for the night I couldn't say no without telling you that Jess was here."

"So, you neglected to tell me that the father of my child is in town?" Rory hissed angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Lorelai exclaimed loudly, "Alright! I'm sorry!" Rory just shook her head and brushed past her mother. Halfway to the stairs Liza emerged from the room once again.

"Stop yelling," she whined hugging Boo tightly.

"Honey, go back to bed," Rory sighed, tiredly.

"I'm hungry," Liza complained and ran towards the stairs, now giggling. Rory tried to stop her, but Liza slipped right past her and raced downstairs. Lorelai and Rory shared a look forgetting they were upset with each other and raced downstairs after her.

_(Back downstairs.) _

Jess had taken a seat on the couch and was drinking the beer that Luke has served them both. Luke sat next to him. Although he wasn't really one to drink alcohol that often he knew this was a time to do so. They heard Lorelai and Rory arguing and then it stopped and Liza came bouncing down the stairs still clutching Boo. She stopped and looked Jess over. "Hi," she waved smiling brightly before scurrying off to the kitchen. Jess got up and approached the kitchen and Lorelai and Rory tumbled down the stairs. It took Rory a second to realize where Jess was going, but as she prepared to take off Luke stopped her.

"Let him go in," Luke suggested. Rory looked pleadingly at her mother who shook her head. She agreed with Luke on this one.

"He needs to know," Lorelai shrugged. Jess was already in the kitchen. "He probably already does."

Inside the kitchen, Jess watched as Liza yanked open the fridge with some trouble. Once the door was open she stood her tip-toes to reach the milk. Jess took it down for her and got her a glass. Liza sipped the milk as soon as she got the glass in her hands. After her first gulp she placed the glass on the table and took long paces towards Jess. "I'm Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore," she greeted, "and who are you?"

"Jess Mariano," Jess introduced.

"What are you doing in my grandma's house?" Liza asked.

"I'm having supper with Lorelai and Luke," Jess replied.

"Do you know my mommy?" Liza wanted to know. She had made her way back to the table and picked up her glass. Boo was tucked safely under her arm.

"Well, is your mommy's name Lorelai too?" Jess played along with her questions.

"Hey!" Liza protested pouting with her milk moustache, "Momma told me that you can't answer a question with a question. It's against the Gilmore rules."

"Well, in order to know if I know your mom," Jess explained, "I need to know who your mommy is."

"God, lay off her Jess," Rory appeared in the kitchen.

"I'm just having a conversation with her," Jess pointed out.

"Come with me," Rory motioned to the back door, "We should go for a walk. Liza, go back to bed honey." Liza shrugged and ran into the living room. Rory exited the house with Jess right behind her and headed away from the Gilmore-Danes home.

_(At the Bridge.)_

The two stood on the bridge silently. After she had told the others not to wait up for her she headed straight here. It was the first and most private spot she could think of. Now, she knew she needed to explain it all to Jess. Explain that he had a daughter and why she never told him. "So, should you start or should I?" Jess wondered.

"Jess, I couldn't tell you," Rory sighed, "I refused to. I've been through the whole absent dad thing. I didn't want Liza to have to go through with you what I did with my dad. I didn't want her having false hopes that you would show up and see her when you promised. My dad broke his promises all the time and I figured I could spare Liza from that. Plus, I didn't want to end up like my mom. She loved my dad and it broke her heart when he married Sherry. I know she found Luke, but it took her a long time to get over my dad."

"Rory, I've been through the absent dad thing too," Jess pointed out, slightly angry, "I know what it's like when your father is coming in and out of you life. Do you really think I would do that to my own kid?"

"I don't know," Rory's lower lip quivered as she held back tears, "I was eighteen and afraid. What was I supposed to think? That you were going to marry me?"

"No, that I would be there for her," Jess' voice began to get higher, "For four years I went around not knowing that in New Haven I had a kid."

"You seriously think you would've been around?" Rory cried, "Yeah, maybe you would've until someone better came along, someone without a kid."

"I loved you Rory!" Jess shouted frustrated, "You were the first person to actually give me a chance. You were the first person I felt comfortable letting down my guards with and just being myself."

"I loved you too," Rory admitted, "I still do. I was just too afraid to lose you. "

"Great girl you raised there though," Jess seemed to calm down a bit. Rory sniffed a little wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Well," she shrugged, "I can't take all the credit. I had a lot of help."

"She'll be starting school next year I guess," Jess stated.

"Yeah," Rory nodded, "She'll be five next August."

"I'd like to be a part of her life now," Jess told her, "I missed four years, but I want to be there."

"Sure," Rory nodded, "We'll introduce you to her slowly though. We can't just drop it all on her like that. Especially when she's a Gilmore and she can't turn to coffee."

"Good old Luke," Jess smirked. Rory grinned, her eyes now dry as she felt the flutter she always felt around Jess. Their eyes locked and for a whole two second Rory's mind went completely blank for almost the first time in her whole life as their lips inched closer together. Jess pulled back though, "Rory, I have a girlfriend."


	5. That's The Way It Goes

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Once again thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm not going to waste you time with my author's note so, on with the story. I'm sorry it took so long to post this chapter. I had other things on my mind but here it is.

**Chapter 5:** **That's the Way it Goes**

Rory blinked as her mind processed the information. Her knees began to tremble and she tried to will them not to give her away. _Jess had a girlfriend_. The sentence played over and over again in her head. Of course Jess had a girlfriend, it had been four years since she'd shut him out of her life. She hadn't expected him to be sulking around all this time waiting for her to run back into his arms. This was Jess. He didn't do that type of thing for anyone. She then became aware of how close the two of them were standing from each other. Rory could feel Jess' warm breath on her cheek. Quickly she took a step back shivering a bit on this oddly warm night in early October. "Oh...of course," she finally managed. She cursed her mind for not functioning properly around him.

"Do you want to go home now?" Jess wondered, "We could always talk more about Liza though."

"Well what would you like to know," Rory asked. She was still baffled but the shock was beginning to wear off and she pushed her feelings for Jess to the back of her mind, for now. It was better that way.

"Where'd the nickname Liza come from?" Jess wondered.

"I wanted something original," Rory explained, "So, we used her middle name. There can only be one Lorelai."

"You mother of course," Jess nodded as he took a seat on the bridge. Rory joined him. "It still can't really believe it," Jess confided, "I have a daughter."

"How'd you figure she was yours anyway?" that question had been gnawing at her mind since they left the house. She still couldn't understand how Jess had pieced it all together.

"It was the only thing that seemed to fit," Jess shrugged, "I figured there was another kid in the house when Lorelai and Luke started with 'she' and 'her' instead of 'he' and 'him'. Then when you walked through the door with the bear and the look on your face I knew she was your girl. The 'my kid' thing only kicked in when I saw her."

"Poor mom and Luke," Rory laughed, "They must've been stressed out." Rory had just realized the humour of the situation and seemed to forget about Jess' girlfriend for the moment.

"Must've," Jess nodded. The two locked eyes once again but this time Rory caught something behind the usual mysteriousness of Jess. It was something she couldn't quite identify but she was sure she'd seen it before this moment, she couldn't quite put her finger on it though. Rory shivered.

"Um...maybe we should get back," Rory broke into the silence after a few seconds, "Put my mom and Luke's minds to rest." Jess nodded and the two got up and began to walk towards the Gilmore-Danes home.

_(At the Gilmore-Danes home.)_

Lorelai, Luke, Lane, Paris, Jamie and Dave sat around in the living room all looking towards the front door waiting for it to open. Liza had long ago passed out next to Lucas who had woken up not long after Rory and Jess left. They both lay asleep on the ground next to Luke. They all wondered silently to themselves what Rory and Jess were doing. Lorelai was the first to voice her opinion. "I bet they're arguing," she stated.

"I bet they're making out," Lane said dreamily.

"Sorry to burst you bubble Lane," Dave began, "but Jess just found out he has a kid. I don't think he's all too happy."

"He loves Rory though," Luke put in.

"Or loved," Lorelai finished.

"Rory still loves him," Paris mentioned quietly, "I can tell." Jamie nodded in agreement.

"She always will," Lorelai muttered sadly. Luke reached over and pulled Lorelai close to him and she looked up and smiled.

"Maybe it'll be different for them," Jamie offered. Lorelai nodded hopefully. They all sighed hoping Jess and Rory would come through the front door and set their mind at ease. Liza groaned in her sleep kicking the air and holding Boo tightly. Lorelai looked at the little one and silently prayed that Jess would be around for to see Liza grow up now that he knew. That Jess could be counted on to show up whenever he said he would and be a part of his daughter's life. Be the father to Liza that Rory had never had. Lorelai got up and pulled out the box with all the Liza pictures from the closet before sitting down next to Luke again. Lane and Paris moved closer to see the pictures and they all smiled as each took one and placed them back on the mantle where they belonged.

_(Just outside the Gilmore-Danes home.) _

Jess and Rory trudged slowly and quietly on the lawn. They could see through the window that Paris, Jamie, Lane and Dave had decided not to go clubbing but to instead await their arrival from the walk. Rory ran to the house leaving a confused Jess out on the lawn watching after her.

Rory burst into the house; everyone froze and turned to look at the intruder. What they saw was a Rory that none of them had seen for a long time. Her hair was askew and she was emotionless. Then, she fell to the floor, buried her face in her hands and rocked back and forth. Lorelai and Lane were the first and only ones to really recognize what was going on and rushed to her side. Then, just as Jess entered the house, Lane and Lorelai had managed to get Rory to stand up and move over to the couch. As soon as Rory sat down and noticed Jess was standing in the house her sadness seemed to dissipate and she was again emotionless. Lane and Lorelai looked curiously between them as the other just watched, still remaining silent. "He has a girlfriend," Rory's words slurred together and only Lane and Paris were able to make out the words.

"Oh," Lane hugged Rory tightly. Paris stood up and went to the kitchen. After a few seconds Lorelai slipped in after her. The two came out and Lorelai picked Lucas up off the floor.

"Hey, Luke why don't you help me bring Liza up to bed?" Lorelai wondered. Luke nodded and picked up the sleeping girl.

"What are you feeding this girl Rory?" Luke asked, "She's getting heavier."

"Only what's good for her Luke," Rory managed a smile, "Only what's good for her."

"You know, I could take her," Jess put in. Lorelai and Luke paused and looked at each other and then Lorelai nodded silently. Luke slipped Jess' daughter into his arms and then Jess followed Lorelai up the stairs. One they were all the way up Luke turned to the others in the room.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Jess has a girlfriend," Lane explained to everyone in the room who already didn't know. Rory took a deep breath and sat back in the couch. Luke awkwardly adjusted his baseball cap, Dave stuck his hands in his pockets and Jamie shifted from foot to foot. None of the three men knew what they could say to Rory. They didn't know if there was anything to say.

"I think I'll go stay at the Inn," Rory told Luke, "It'll be less trouble for you and my mom. I'll come pick Liza up in the morning." Luke nodded acknowledgement.

"Just wait to say goodbye to Lorelai alright?" Luke coughed. Rory just stared down at her feet. A minute later Lorelai followed by Jess came down the stairs. Rory, Lane, Paris and the boys got up.

"I'm going over to the Inn," Rory informer her mother in a near-whisper.

"Honey you know we have room here," Lorelai pointed out, "Luke can sleep on the couch."

"No," Rory shook her head, "I'll stop by the diner tomorrow to pick up Liza and some coffee. We're going into Hartford for lunch." Lorelai nodded in understanding and hugged her daughter.

"I'll call the Inn and get them to set up three rooms," Lorelai moved towards the phone, "Lane, Dave you two are going to stay there right?" Lane nodded and Lorelai dialled as the five of them exited the house.

_(Rory's room at the __Inn)_

Rory slipped the key in the room and pushed open the door. She stood in the doorway a few seconds before stepping into the darkness and turning on the lights. Just as she slipped under the covers minutes later there was a knock at the door. Knowing immediately who was at the door Rory got up and opened it. Paris and Lane pushed past into the room and each took a seat on the bed. "What are you two doing?" Rory wondered.

"We need to talk," Lane stated.

"About Jess," Paris finished. Rory groaned. She had known this was coming.

"We're running interference," Lane added, "You've been all too quiet and I remember the last time you had that look on you face."

"When I chased Jess off," Rory said knowingly, "I had just realized that I was going to do this alone."

"You didn't do it alone," Lane reminded her, "We were all there for you. You're still not alone now."

"So what Jess has a girlfriend," Paris shrugged, "You've got Liza."

"And a wonderful life," Lane hugged her best friend, "More than anything Jess has."

"I love him," Rory confessed.

"We know," Lane nodded, "We know." Rory sobbed as Lane and Paris tried to console her.

_(The Next morning at the Diner.)_

"Coffee!" Lorelai cried out as she entered the diner. Liza was tugging at her arm whining and Lucas was crying about his knee that he had hurt running down the driveway. Jess chuckled as he saw Lorelai and the two kids. "Okay mister laugh all you want," Lorelai said as she sat the kids down at the counter, "But if you don't give me a cup of coffee there will be hell to pay."

"Sorry Lorelai," Jess shook his head, "Luke took the pot with him when he went in the back." Lorelai groaned and rested her head against the counter.

"Find me coffee," Lorelai begged, "I don't care if you have to steal it from Taylor just get me coffee."

"Are the kids that bad?" Jess asked.

"YES!" Lorelai exclaimed. Jess looked around to make sure that Luke was no where in sight before he slipped a cup in front of Lorelai. "You are a god!" Lorelai praised taking a sip from the cup.

"Luke's not going to be happy," Liza shook her head. She was sitting on her knees on the stool next to Lorelai."

"Luke's not going to be happy about what?" Luke boomed as he appeared. Both Jess and Lorelai gave Liza a look that she was not to give them away but the four year old just beamed.

"He," she pointed to Jess, "Gave Grams a secret cup of coffee."

"I expected this from Lorelai but you?" Luke shook his head, "Jess, she shouldn't be drinking caffeine while she's pregnant." Luke reached to take the cup from his wife but Lorelai jumped off her stool and walked far away from the counted.

"Can I have that donut now?" Liza asked Luke. Luke nodded and handed Liza a chocolate glazed donut. Lorelai gasped.

"You bribed her!" Lorelai accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Luke grunted.

"You knew Jess would give me coffee," Lorelai elaborated, "so you told her you'd give her a donut if she would tell you."

"I can't believe you don't trust me Uncle Luke," Jess put his hand to his chest and backed away from Luke.

"I did no such thing," Luke lied.

"Liza, honey did Luke promise you a donut if you told on her and Jess?" Lorelai inquired. Liza chewed her donut slowly and shrugged. Jess moved around the counter and sat in the stool Lorelai had occupied seconds ago.

"Let's make a deal," he leaned in close not noticing that Rory had just entered the diner, "If you tell us what Luke told you I'll give you another donut." Liza contemplated Jess' offer for a second.

"Nope," she declined, "Not good enough."

"How about..." Jess paused, "Ice cream in a cone with chocolate sauce and a cherry?"

"Hmm..." Liza furrowed her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose, "Luke said that if you gave Grams coffee, a horrible no good drink, I had to tell him and he would give me a donut."

"Traitor," Luke hissed. Rory laughed as Jess made Liza her ice cream.

"Well, aren't we lucky," Rory made her presence known.

"Hi mommy!" Liza called out and smiled with her ice cream covered face.

"Hey sweets," Rory hissed the top of her daughter's head, "Luke can I have some coffee?"

"Yuck, coffee!" Liza exclaimed.

"I never thought I'd hear a Gilmore say that," Jess muttered shaking his head.

"Luke, are you putting ideas in my daughter's head?" Rory interrogated. Luke said nothing instead he just slid a coffee in front of Rory. Rory wiped Liza's sticky face free of the ice cream and Lorelai helped cut up Lucas' breakfast. As all this went on the bells on the diner door chimed they all looked up expecting to see Lane, Paris, Jamie, and Dave. Instead they saw a girl with long, straight brown hair and green eyes. She was a little shorter than Rory and was carrying a backpack.

"Hello Jess!" She exclaimed with a huge smile on her face.

"Carrie," Jess muttered and he stood frozen in his spot behind the counter. Rory knew instantly who this girl was. Jess' girlfriend.


	6. Seeing Double

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Thanks all of you who reviewed. I made a teensy mistake in the last chapter that I fixed up. Liza is four not five, oops. One little note: Remember not everything is as it may seem. Anyway, I'm going to get on with the story now. Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Seeing Double**

The whole diner was silent, even those who didn't know what was happening just now stared at the strange intruder. Carrie gave them all a strange look and rummaged in her back pack flipping her hair and pulling out a compact. She wore tight jeans, lots of make-up and a shirt that ended just above her naval. Rory couldn't see what Jess saw in this girl who seemed glamorous and shallow. Glancing at Jess, Rory noticed he was not watching his "girlfriend" but the door to the diner. Furrowing her eyebrows Rory looked passed the brunette out the door where residents of Stars Hollow were walking past the diner. "Where's Kate?" Jess wondered after a while.

"She got distracted on the way over," Carrie rolled her eyes, "Something about the perfect picture." Jess shook his head laughing. If he was in anyway nervous it didn't show. Rory and Lorelai shared a looked.

"So, Jess who's this?" Lorelai wondered curiously. Asking what everyone present wanted to know.

"This is Carrie," Jess introduced coolly, "A friend of mine from New York."

"Also his girlfriend's twin sister," Carrie clarified, "Speak of the devil." The door to the diner opened and another brunette bounced in. Her hair was chopped short up to her chin, decorated with wavy curls and she wore baggy pants that clung to her hips with a plain white tee-shirt. A camera was strapped around her neck and guitar bag hanging from her shoulder. As opposed to her sister she wore practically no make up and her green eyes seemed to shimmer with delight. She stopped short noticing all who were staring at her.

"Umm...hi," she waved awkwardly. Rory mused on how different in character Carrie and Kate seemed for two who looked so much alike.

"What're you doing in Stars Hollow?" Jess asked making his way around the counter and to Kate.

"Thought you might use some company," she shrugged, "Plus I was bored what with no classes and no band practice until Wednesday."

"And your sister?" Jess nodded towards Carrie.

"She wouldn't let me use the car," Kate shrugged, "God knows I tried to steal the keys but..." Jess shook his head and the two kissed. Luke coughed and Lorelai threw a balled up napkin at the couple as Rory stared into her cup of coffee. At that moment Paris, Lane, Dave and Jamie strolled into the diner. They stopped short at the sight of the couple making out in the middle of the diner.

"Okay," Lane was the first to speak, "Last I checked this was a public place and there are two children present." Jess and Kate pulled apart.

"Sorry," Kate blushed furiously.

"No problem," Lane plopped down on an empty stool next to Rory, "It's just that if Taylor caught you two Luke would have hell to pay."

"Luke?" Kate looked around curiously.

"I'm Luke," Luke waved as he dried off his cup.

"And I'm Mrs. Luke," Lorelai chimed, "And this is baby Luke."

"She's also known as Lorelai," Jess informed Kate, "That's Rory, her daughter Liza, Lane, Paris, Dave and Jamie."

"Well seeing as introductions are all done," Carrie cut in from her table, "Can I get some food?"

"That's my sister always thinking about herself," Kate rolled her eyes joining her sister at the table and pecking Jess on the lips. Rory made a face that didn't go unnoticed by Lane who just shook her head. By now, Liza had already slid down off her stool and crawled over to where the two sisters sat.

"Hi," she popped up, frightening Carrie. Everyone burst out laughing as Carrie shrieked.

"Hi," Kate nodded, "So, you're name's Liza right?"

"Yeah and I'm four and Jess gave me ice cream," Liza grinned.

"Did he now?" Kate asked sending a smile in the direction of Jess, "That's nice of him."

"Uh-huh," Liza nodded enthusiastically. Rory now approached their table carrying Danish and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Liza, honey, what did I tell you about bugging strangers?" Rory asked her daughter before turning towards the two sisters, "Sorry about her. She tends to do that."

"It's no problem," Kate laughed, "She wasn't bugging a bit. Quite an adorable daughter you've got."

"Thanks," Rory smiled and her gaze fell upon Jess who was scrubbing the counter, "But I can't take all the credit for that." Jess chose that moment to look up and catch Rory's gaze for a second before she quickly turned away.

"Hey babe," Lorelai popped over to the table, "Any chance you won't be drinking your coffee?" Rory rolled her eyes and handed her mother the coffee cup. "Thank you. You'll always be my favourite daughter."

"Wait," Carrie put in, "You're her mother?"

"Yes," Lorelai wrapped her arm around Rory's shoulder, "You're looking at three generations of Lorelai Gilmores."

"Huh?" Carrie looked confusedly between Rory, Liza and Lorelai.

"My full name is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," Rory explained, "And Liza is Lorelai Elizabeth Gilmore."

"Oh," Carrie nodded still looking slightly confused.

"How come you're all Gilmore then?" Kate seemed truly interested in their story, "Shouldn't you have your father's last name?"

"Well, I had Rory at sixteen," Lorelai filled in, "and her father wasn't around at all so I kept my last name."

"And I was eighteen when I had Liza," Rory continued, "It was the last thing I expected to happen and I was scared about the consequences. So, I drove her father away and never told him about her. When she was born I thought it would be best to keep the name Gilmore." Rory hadn't noticed Jess approach them with Carrie and Kate's order as well as a new full cup of coffee for her. She accepted the coffee gratefully but didn't look at him in fear of what it might reveal.

"Wow, how do you manage it all?" Kate wondered, "I mean having a four year old kid and going to college? Assuming you do that is."

"I do," Rory nodded, "I go to Yale. At first I hired a Nanny and Paris would take care of her when I had to work. Then when Jamie moved in with us he took over. I don't know what I'll do when he finds a job. Probably hire someone else."

"Did you ever talk to the father again?" Kate questioned. Rory couldn't help but look at Jess once again who had returned to the counter. She shifted uncomfortably in her place. Lorelai who still stood beside her squeezed Rory's arm for support.

"Kate," Jess voice broke into the silence that followed the question. Rory knew he had heard everything in the conversation, "Let's go for a walk."

"Um...sure Jess," Kate shrugged, "Just let me finish talking with Rory." Rory bit her lip.

"I've got to go anyway," Rory put in, "I'm going back to New Haven and stopping for lunch at my grandparents' house. Plus Paris and I have classes tomorrow."

"That reminds me," Jamie approached them, "Lorelai, do you think you can drive up? I have a job interview tomorrow. Some guy called while Rory and Paris were shopping and asked me to come in."

"I can't," Lorelai shook her head, "I got to take Lucas to the doctor for a check up. Then I've got my own appointment for the twins." Lorelai patted her belly.

"I'll do it," Jess offered. The all looked over to the counter where Jess stood.

"Uh...okay," Rory nodded, "My mom or Luke will give you the address. You sure Luke can spare you?"

"Sure," Luke nodded, "For one day I'll be fine to run the diner. Anyway Caesar's coming in."

"Great," Rory sighed, "So be there around nine if you can. Alright?"

"Sure," Jess nodded, "Kate you don't mind being left to the Stars Hollow nuts and your sister?"

"Nah," Kate shook her head, "The town seems to have so many things I can take pictures of and the band needs some new songs anyway."

"You're in a band?" Lane suddenly perked up with interest from the next table.

"Yeah," Kate nodded, "I started it up back when I was in high school and have been playing in clubs and people's garage for a long time."

"Including our garage," Carrie said sourly, "God they made such racket."

"Says the girl who likes rap," Kate spat, "There's no actual point to rap. All they ever _rap_ about is sex."

"Dave," Lane motioned to Dave, "and I are in a band as well"

"Yeah, I think I've seen you play before," Kate nodded, "You play around New York?" Lane and Kate began discussing music and their bands while Carrie moved on to looking at herself in her little mirror. Rory glanced at her watch quickly and then looked around the diner for her daughter who was playing with Lucas.

"Hey Liza, honey, we got to go," Rory rejoined, "We're going to see Great Granny and Great Grandpa."

"Yay!" Liza cheered rushing over to Lorelai and giving her a hug. Then, Liza took a second to run around the counter. After hugging Luke she approached Jess. The Jess looked down to the little one and then disappeared behind the counter. Rory peered over just enough to see Liza giving him a big hug and a wet kiss on the cheek. She smiled sadly seeing how Liza seemed to get along well with Jess. Rory only hoped that this was the beginning of bond that could be formed between the two. She hoped.

When Liza re-appeared in front of the counter and took her mother's hand, Paris and Jamie grabbed their coffee and followed them out the door after all the good-byes had been said. When the four of them were out the door Lorelai, Lane, Dave and baby Lucas moved over to a table. "Wow," Lane stated as they were all settled in at the table.

"I know," Lorelai nodded, "I never thought anyone would be excited to see my parents."

"Yeah, but that wasn't what I was talking about," Lane said, "It's strange that his girlfriend would show up the day after she tells Jess about Liza."

"How did your talk with her go last night?" Dave wondered.

"Well, she still loves him," Lane sighed sadly.

"She always will," Lorelai stared blankly ahead, "She always will." Luke, who had just joined them on his break that Jess insisted he take, kissed his wife.

"Maybe she will," Lane offered, "Maybe she'll give that guy Tristan a call now."

"Wait," Lorelai seemed to brighten up a bit, "That's it!"

"Huh?" everyone at the table looked at Lorelai confused as Lucas banged his fork against the table.

"I've got a great idea!" Lorelai exclaimed, "No, a brilliant idea."


	7. Outrageous Ideas

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews I've gotten. I know it too a long time for my last update but I promise all of you read this that I'll be good and won't wait so long between updates from now on. The answer to why Tristan was introduced will be revealed later in the chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 7: Outrageous Ideas**

Jess swerved around the diner that had been so familiar to him for the two years that he had lived in Stars Hollow. Although he would never admit it to anyone he had missed it here. The craziness of the town, Lorelai's begging for coffee. Luke had called him when he and Lorelai got engaged, but they both thought it was better if he didn't attend seeing as Rory would be there. Jess had wanted to go though, wanted to see his uncle finally marry the woman who had been in his diner every morning begging for coffee. Jess had known it would happen sooner or later. The two of them flirted every time they crossed paths. Truth is, Stars Hollow was the first real home Jess had ever known and he sometimes wished he never had to leave. __

He had been placing an order for two teenagers when Lorelai's outburst had occurred. He had quickly lost interest in taking the order and turned his full attention over to where Lorelai sat with Luke, Lane and Dave all watching her intently. He slid the pen behind his ear and put his pad back into his back pocket as he slowly approached their table. Walking aimlessly around the tables he tried to listen to what they were saying. A loud bang caused him to draw his attention away from Lorelai. He now realized that he had crashed into a table sending the empty plates crashing to the floor. Everyone stared at him curiously as Jess sighed and leaned over to begin cleaning up the mess he had made. "Let's go for a walk," Lorelai said getting up from her chair and heading towards the door. Jess looked up just in time to see Lane, Dave and Luke following her. Just before he left Luke turned around. He had Lucas in his arms.

"Jess, you mind watching him a bit?" Luke grumbled, "And the dust pan is in the back." Jess nodded and got up to take his little cousin Lucas.

"No problem Uncle Luke," Jess shrugged and he shifted the two year old in his arms. Luke nodded brusquely before leaving to catch up with his wife and Rory's friends. Once Luke was gone Jess sighed and looked down at the rest of the broken glass. Kate, who had watched everything from her table, got up and approached Jess.

"Let me take him while you finish cleaning up," she offered. Jess nodded and handed Lucas over to Kate. This weekend was proving to be a lot more than Jess could handle. He could only imagine what the rest of the week would be like. Going over and getting the dust pan he swept up the last of the glass. Once everything was clean he got back to taking and delivering orders. He was only partially there though. So many things were running through his head. He had a daughter. Jess wasn't sure if he was ready to become a father, but he already was. He also had to baby-sit Liza tomorrow. What had been running through his head when he offered to do that, he had no idea. Liza seemed like a great kid though, he couldn't imagine what it had been like for Rory these past four years trying to raise a daughter and going to school to fulfill her dream. He was also hurt that Rory felt the need to hide the fact that he had a daughter from him. Kate showing up today hadn't helped at all. Jess knew that he would eventually have to tell her everything, but he still had stuff to figure out himself.

The morning rush seemed to die down and soon enough the diner was nearly empty and Jess found the time to take his first break since he started working that morning. He sat down at the table with Kate; Carrie had left to 'look around' not long ago, and enjoyed a burger with her. Lucas now sat on Jess' lap playing with the fries in the ketchup before shoving them in his mouth. "The people here don't seem so bad," Kate said, eating her own fries.

"Ah, you've only met the sane ones," Jess told her, "excluding Lorelai of course."

"Were you good friends with Rory and Lane when you lived here?" Kate wanted to know.

"You could say that," Jess averted looking at Kate, "There's a long story leading up to why I left."

"Well, you'll have to tell me that one day," Kate smiled. Just then a group of people entered the diner and took a seat.

"I better get back to work," Jess stood up and handed Lucas back to Kate. He took out his pad and pen and approached his new customers, relieved that they had entered. The story was a story Jess wasn't fully prepared to tell. It was a story he hadn't quite figured all the answers out to yet. At the moment though, he could once again put on the mask of deceit and pretend nothing could hurt him, the mask that would protect him from the truth.

_(At the Gazebo.)___

Lorelai, Lane, Dave and Luke all stood on the Gazebo waiting to see who would be the first to speak. Lorelai had revealed her plan to the three of them. Now, there was a silence while they all processed the information. Luke sighed and adjusted his cap. "It's a crazy idea," he shook his head.

"Luke is right," Lane nodded, "Lorelai too many people can get hurt."

"She's right Lorelai," Dave nodded.

"AW, come one," Lorelai groaned, "Its perfect! We'll use Jess' own trick to show him that he's still madly in love with Rory. He used Shane to make Rory jealous which resulted in her break-up with Dean. We'll use Tristan to get Jess jealous and make him realize he still loves Rory."

"Lorelai, it's not right," Lane plopped down, "It's not right to be playing with people's emotions like that."

"But Jess did!" Lorelai whined.

"Yeah, but there wasn't a four year old to think about then," Dave pointed out. Lorelai pouted and then bit her lip thoughtfully again.

"Let's just propose this idea to Rory," she offered and then began to go back towards to diner to get Dave's car. Luke, Dave and Lane ran to catch up with her. Luke ran ahead and stopped in front of Lorelai.

"Don't Lorelai," he shook his head, "Don't go and do this to her."

"Luke, I've been where she is now," tears formed in Lorelai's eyes, "Sure, things were a bit different in my case but when I found out that Chris was with Sherry I was devastated. Chris and I weren't meant to be, we were. I was in love with you for a long time Luke before we were able to admit it to each other. Thing is though, Jess is the one for Rory. Jess is to Rory as you are to me. He's not her Chris Luke, he's her Luke. I just can't see her let this go, miss her chance on being with the one person who understands her, the one person who is meant to be with her."

"I don't want to see that either," Luke informed her.

"But, Lorelai we got to let them figure it out on their own," Lane put in, "No matter how long that takes." Lane's voice was filled with sadness. The past had finally caught up with Rory, who had tried to hard to make things right after she had gotten pregnant. Lane knew how hard it had been for Rory four years ago when all this had started to happen. How hard it had been for Rory to push Jess away so he would be able to have a life, how hard she had worked to get into Yale despite the fact she was pregnant. She couldn't imagine how much Rory was hurting right now, but Lane knew she was although Rory would do her best to hide it from everyone. She couldn't hide it though Lane saw right through her as did Paris and Lorelai.

_(Outside the elder Gilmore home.)_

Rory waved Paris off as she and Jamie headed off to visit with Paris' mother. They would be back in and hour, two at the most to pick them up and head off back to New Haven. Liza had already run up ahead to the door and waited for her mother to come so she could ring the bell. Rory looked at her daughter and wondered how much longer she could hold together, how much longer she could pretend she was all right and that everything was still all fine and dandy. Taking a deep breath, she took each step up to the door slowly reminding herself that she was supposed to be happy, that she was supposed to be fine. She lifted Liz up and allowed her to ring her doorbell. A young maid answered the door. "Hello, are Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore expecting you?" she wondered.

"No, but I'm their granddaughter," Rory informed the maid kindly, "Can you please tell them I'm here?" The maid nodded courteously and allowed them to enter the entrance closing the door behind them. A minute or so later the maid re-entered the room followed closely by Emily.

"Why, isn't this a delightful surprise," Emily smiled, "We weren't expecting you two until next week with your mother."

"Well we came down to surprise mom and Luke," Rory smiled, "We're on our way home so we decided to stop by and see you."

"Tara, please go get Mr. Gilmore but don't tell him his granddaughter is here," Emily ordered. She then ushered Rory and Liza into the sitting room. Rory sat down on the couch and leaned back into it tilting her head towards the roof and closing her eyes. She could here her grandmother gushing over how big Liza had gotten since she had seen her last week. She remained sitting in that same position until Richard entered the room.

"Emily, what is so important that I..." Richard trailed off as he saw Rory and Liza sitting in the room, "My, isn't this a wonderful surprise."

"Grandpa!" Rory exclaimed not even having to paste on a fake smile. She hadn't seen her Grandfather in three weeks and rushed over to give him a big hug. After Rory was done with her hug it was Liza's turn. Richard scooped Liza right up and began to talk to her. At this point Emily was ready to offer drinks.

"Rory, what would you like?" Emily wondered, "A soda as usual?" Although she was of drinking age Rory never quite took to alcohol. Then again she was too busy juggling her priorities at school and as a mother to go out drinking and partying with her friends and fellow students. Yet, right now Rory felt that was exactly what she needed, alcohol. It might help her hold together a tiny been longer, or make her break down quicker but she felt a need for it she had never felt before. All that was happening was too much for her.

"Actually I think I'll have a glass of wine," Rory said. There, that was enough. It was alcohol but not hard alcohol. Emily seemed slightly taken aback by Rory's request but poured three glasses, one for each of the adult present.

"How about you?" Richard asked his great-granddaughter, "What would you like to drink young miss?"

"Um...apple juice like mommy!" Liza exclaimed. Rory looked down at her glass of white wine and almost wished it was apple juice. She wasn't quite used to the taste. Swirling the wine in her glass Rory glanced at her watch. It was one; the morning had passed quite quickly. Looking back over to her grandfather and daughter Rory smiled at how well the two were getting along, as usual. Richard Gilmore had taken an immediate liking to the youngest Gilmore from the day she was born; it went the same for Liza. Rory was glad that she was able to share her daughter with her grandparents and that they had been supportive of her since the day they found out she was pregnant. Rory had never introduced Jess to her grandparents, but she had a feeling that Jess and Richard would get along great except for the fact he had gotten Rory pregnant.

Almost immediately after Liza was served her apple juice they were ushered into the dining room for a late lunch. Rory sat at the table reflecting on the many Friday night dinners that had taken place here. They ate rather silently but after the meal was done the small talk began. "So, Rory how's school?" Richard wondered.

"It's actually really good," Rory nodded fiddling with the remaining rice in her plate, "I'm anxious for this year to end though."

"Ah, and get out into the world," Richard chuckled, "Any idea where you'll be working yet?"

"I've got a few offers already," Rory shrugged, "But I'm also looking into where Liza will start school next year."

"It's true she'll be starting next year," Richard looked at Liza, "It doesn't seem that long ago that she was in diapers."

"That's because it wasn't Richard," Emily put in.

"I mean when she was just home from the hospital and Rory was showing her off," Richard chuckled at the memory, "She was just so tiny, kind of like Rory when she was born." Silence fell upon the table except for the light scraping of Liza's fork as she tried to pick up her last piece of meat. Even after all these years Lorelai's failure to become a lady of high society and marry Christopher was still a heavy topic. Although Rory had become pregnant out of wedlock she was still fulfilling their dream for her. Going to college, and becoming something of herself. They had been slightly more prepared for this type of thing to happen to Rory. After all she was her mother's daughter. Lorelai had been slightly jealous of the way they reacted to Rory's pregnancy. She had wished it could've been that easy for her.

Finally, after two hours with her grandparents Paris and Jamie finally showed up. Although her Grandparents offered many time they all refused to stay, even for a minute. They had to get home and get ready for the long day ahead of them.

_(In Jamie's car.)_

On Liza's demand Paris slipped into the driver's seat, Rory into the passengers' seat and Jamie into the back so he could read to Liza a story. It had been Jamie's night to read. The three of them had always taken turns reading to Liza since Jamie had moved in with them and Liza refused to miss a night. Rory took her cell phone out of her purse and called her mom. "Come on," Rory begged after the fourth ring, "Pick up."

_"Hello?" Lorelai sighed on the other end. _

"Mom?" Rory asked. The sulky voice on the other end of the phone couldn't be her mother.

_"Rory!"__ Lorelai seemed to perk up slightly, "Where are you?" _

"In the car on the way home," Rory responded, "We had lunch with grandma and grandpa. It was okay."

_"I can't believe you guys went," Lorelai laughed, "You've got to go again next week too." _

"You and Luke are the only two who dread going," Rory pointed out; "Why Luke does I'll never know. They like him."

_"Yes, but this is my parents we're talking about," Lorelai reminded Rory, "They're evil!"_

"Uh-huh. You keep telling me that," Rory glanced out the window to see why Paris was turning, "Oh, mom I got to go. We're getting gas."

_"Bye honey, I love you!" Lorelai saluted. _

"Love you too mom," Rory hung up the phone and opened her car door. "Paris I'm going inside alright?" Paris nodded and Rory headed off.

_(Inside the gas station shop.) _

Rory walked into the store and browsed through the aisle. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking for but she needed to walk around. She could feel the barrier she had put up falling apart inside of her and she felt the need to get out of the car. She picked up a package of gum, a chocolate bar and M&Ms for Liza and approached the cash. Not watching where she was going, Rory rummaged through her wallet for cash and ran into someone. "Oh, sorry," she mumbled and didn't look up.

"Why, Mary we just keep running into each other," the stranger chuckled. Rory furrowed her eyebrows and looked up already knowing who she was going to find. Tristan.

"What are you doing here?" she asked cautiously.

"My parents found out I was in the state," Tristan explained, "They wouldn't let me go without stopping by. So, where's Paris and you're adorable daughter?"

"Paris is getting gas and Liza's in the car with Jamie," Rory informed him. She then pulled out a five dollar bill and stepped into line, Tristan right behind her.

"Were you ever going to call?" he wondered.

"Um...I don't know," Rory shrugged, "At least now I don't think I will. I'd rather not talk about dating or be dating or any such things."

"Okay," Tristan shrugged, "I'd ask why but I think that qualifies under your such things category." Rory nodded and stared into Tristan's blue eyes for a sign of disappointment which she found easily. She didn't notice that the line in front of her had vanished and the cashier was waiting impatiently for her to step forward.

"I've had a rough weekend," she confided, "Either way I know I'm not ready to date." Then, it happened. Rory felt the final pieces of her shield break apart the pain struck her hard and Rory let out a single sob before the tears began to stream down her face.

"Rory, Rory what's wrong?" Tristan sounded worried, "Why are you crying? Are you alright?"

"I love him, I love him so much," she sobbed, sinking down to her knees and covering her face, "It hurts so much to see him with her, to know he's with her. My baby has a father, a father who knows about her and wants to know her. I can't, he's with her and it hurts, it hurts." She was barely audible through her sobs but Tristan caught bits and pieces. He knew now he had missed any shot of being in Rory Gilmore's heart as anything but a friend and he could tell she really needed a friend right now. As she sobbed he dropped his stuff and joined her on the floor wrapping his arms protectively around her. Paris, who was coming in to pay caught the sight and immediately knew the meaning reaching for her cell phone Paris called the one other person who knew this was coming, Lane. As Paris explained the situation to the other girl Rory continued to sob in the arms of a newfound friend.


	8. Emotional Damage

**Family Portrait**

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed. As always I appreciate the feedback, please keep it up. I'll just get on with it seeing as you all want to read what happens next. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

**Chapter 8: Emotional Damage**

Paris Gellar held the phone to her ear listening to the endless rings as she waited for Lane to answer the phone. Tristan rocked Rory in his arms protectively trying to calm her down. Paris was unsure of whether he knew the trigger to Rory's emotional break-down that had been four years in the making, or maybe four days. She had been there when Rory had Liza, when she pushed Jess away. She had seen the stress that had been dropped on her as she handled the pregnancy and then raising a child on her own. Finally, when Lane picked up Paris tore her eyes away from the two on the floor of the gas station shop. "Lane. Hi."

_Paris__?" Lane sounded surprised, "What's up?" _

"It's Rory," Paris' voice was softened as she said Rory's name.

_"Oh. No." Lane knew what had happened. _

"Yeah," Paris nodded to herself, "We stopped for gas and she came inside. When I came in to pay she was crying and Tristan was hugging her."

_"Tristan?" there was something indefinable in Lane's tone, it might've been irony. _

"Yeah, we kind of ran into him again," Paris explained, "She doesn't look good Lane. When we left her grandmother asked if everything was alright. Rory drank wine during lunch."

_"Oh, god," Lane sighed, "Did you tell her?" _

"No, I can see Emily Gilmore marching down to Star's Hollow," Paris laughed lightly at the image. Lane did too.

_"Where exactly are you?" Lane wondered, "Do you want Dave and me to drive up?" _

"No, no I don't think it's necessary," Paris now looked back to Rory, "I don't think it would help."

_"Okay," Lane sounded slightly disappointed, "I wish I could help. Call me if anything else happens. Do you need me to tell Lorelai?" _

"I don't know," Paris bit her lip, "I don't think there's any need to worry her more."

_"You're right," Lane agreed, "You better get back to her. Bye." _

"Bye," Paris shut off her phone and approached Rory and Tristan. "Hey," she nudged him lightly. Tristan looked up at Paris before standing.

"She...she just..." Tristan stammered. Paris looked at him confused and then realized he thought she blamed him for this mess Rory seemed to be in.

"God, Tristan," Paris rolled her eyes and stooped down to where Rory sat crying, her face covered with her hands, "Don't get over-paranoid. I know what's happening."

"You do?" Tristan raised an eyebrow, "Care to tell me then? I only caught bits and pieces about Liza's father."

He was in Stars Hollow," Paris elaborated, "Helping his uncle and Lorelai around the diner. They've been busy with Lucas and Lorelai's pregnancy. Rory didn't know and she ran into him at her mother's while they were having dinner with him. Liza was upstairs so he figured it out. Rory told him it all and then he told her he had a girlfriend. The next morning the aforementioned girlfriend and her sister showed up at the diner."

"God," Tristan breathed. Paris nodded. As they sat in silence Rory continuing her break-down Jamie entered the looking for them. He saw the three of them on the floor and rushed over. Paris stood up right away and met him half-way to Rory.

"What's happened?" Jamie asked worriedly.

"She lost it," Paris shrugged, "We all knew it was coming. Where's Liza?"

"In the car," Jamie clarified, "She's playing with Boo."

"Okay," Paris nodded and led Jamie over to where Tristan still sat with Rory, "Jamie this is Tristan. Tristan, Jamie." Jamie and Tristan nodded their hellos.

"Want me to take her to the car?" Jamie wondered.

"N-not...t-to...the car," Rory hiccoughed in between sobs, "I-I don't want...Liza...to..." Paris and Jamie nodded in understanding even though Rory hadn't finished her sentence. She didn't want Liza to see her like this.

"Rory, you have to though," Paris helped Rory stand up; "We need to get home."

"I'll take her," Tristan offered. Paris looked at Tristan sceptically.

"Don't you need to go home yourself?" Paris wondered.

"No," Tristan lied, "No classes." Paris shrugged and turned to Rory for her response. She just nodded slowly. Accepting Rory's decision Paris returned to the car while Jamie and Tristan helped Rory to Tristan's car. Paris, sitting in the driver's seat watched as Rory sat in passenger's seat of the car and stared out the window. Paris could tell she was hardly aware of what was happening around her. Her mind and heart was with Jess.

"Pa-ris," Liza sang from the back seat, "Where's Momma going?"

"She's riding home with a friend," Paris explained, "You'll see her at home."

"But I wanna go with Momma," Liza whined. Paris closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long ride home. Jamie got back in the car next to Liza in the back seat and tried to read some more to her but Liza pouted and turned her head away refusing to look at the book or Jamie. "I want Mommy!"

"How about chocolate?" Jamie wondered holding out a bag of M&M's he had found in the back pack. Lorelai had probably slipped it in earlier. Liza whipped her head around and eyes wide tried to grab at the chocolate.

"Chocolate!" she shouted gleefully, "Chocolate Jamie, chocolate!" Jamie smiled joyfully and handed Liza the newly opened bag who in turn accepted it eagerly. "Red, Blue, Grween," Liza named off each color as she placed then slowly one by one into her mouth.

_(In Tristan's Car.)_

Tristan watched Rory from the corner of his eye as he drove. Rory was not there though, not the Rory he knew and loved. Of course he knew more than ever now that if he had ever had a chance with Rory he had lost it long, long ago. Her heart now belonged solely to the father of her daughter. The man, who had broken her heart in so many pieces this weekend, caused his Mary to be turned into this stranger sitting next to him.

Gradually he noticed that Rory became uninterested in the world outside and now stared at her hands in her lap. The sparkle that had once been in her eye was gone and now she was pale and her eyes rimmed with red from crying. He took one had off the steering wheel and placed them on one of her hands squeezing her it gently. Rory glanced quickly at him and forced a smile. Tristan frowned. That wasn't what he had wanted to accomplish, he wanted her to feel comforted not feel as if she needed to pretend, to force herself into happiness. A lot had happened to his Mary since he left for military school, a whole lot.

They drove on in silence. Tristan didn't bother to turn on the radio and risk the chance of more painful memories being dragged up for the sombre girl. Tristan remembered a time when there was never a dull moment between the two he had always been able to get her to bicker with him, or at least have a half-decent conversation of which he would ruin by mocking her. "You didn't have to do this," Rory muttered almost inaudibly looking at him once more.

"Yes, I did," Tristan corrected her, "I did." Rory once again turned away and stared at her hands, remaining silent.

_(Back in Stars Hollow.)_

Lane slipped her cell phone back into her pocket and ignored the curious looks she got from Dave and Lorelai who had been sitting not too far off. She walked past the two of them heading towards the Gilmore-Danes house. The last pieces of Rory's façade had been lifted and now she was a mess from what Paris had told her. Lane had known this was coming, had been thinking about it since Kate walked into the diner earlier that morning but at the moment she almost wished she hadn't known or been expecting this. Lane worried about Liza and how this would affect her either now or in the future how long Rory would be like this and what would happen. One thing that struck Lane as odd was that Tristan had been there when it happened. Just a couple of hours before Rory's emotional break down Lorelai had been planning a hoax relationship with Rory and Tristan at the center of it and then over in a gas station as Rory's last bit of strength to keep her sadness under wraps slipped away Tristan had been there with her. It was all one big ongoing coincidence.

The three of them now stood on the porch of the house saying goodbye for the evening as Lane and Dave headed over to the Kim residence before returning to the Inn. Lane hugged Lorelai tightly wishing she could bring herself to tell Lorelai what had happened to Rory, but she couldn't. Paris had been right; Lorelai had too much to worry about what with the twins on their way and Lucas still too little for Lorelai to ship off to Stars Hollow Elementary. Plus, it would just give Lorelai another reason to murder Jess. As she pulled out from her hug with Lorelai she noticed Jess standing in the doorway of the house, Lucas in his arms. She forced a smile in his direction and then looked at Lucas. Suddenly the memory that Jess was supposed to take care of Liza the next day came flying back. She tried to remember what time she had asked Jess to be there and what time Rory started her first class. She knew that Rory would under no circumstances miss a day of classes just because of an emotional break-down. Rory wasn't like that she would just pull herself together, put on another mask and head back out into the world. That was Rory Gilmore now, but Lane remembered a time when Rory had been truly happy without the mask. "Lane," Dave pulled her back to reality, "We better get going. I know you don't want to spend longer than necessary at your mother's"

"Yeah," Lane nodded at her boyfriend taking his hand, "Bye Lorelai, Jess, Bye Lucas!"

"BUH!" Lucas waved. Lane smiled sweetly at the two year old and followed Dave off the porch and towards Mama Kim's.

Within fifteen minutes Lane was forced to once again stop thinking about Rory and her problem and listen to everything that was going on. Mama Kim was fussing over her saying that she was becoming too American with her clothes, music and boyfriend. Lane then found her thoughts wandering again, but this time she wasn't thinking about Rory she was thinking about her and Dave. When Mama Kim had finally found out about the band she had been infuriated and even threatened to send her away to boarding school in Korea. It wasn't until Dave actually got a say in the band and then his relationship with Lane that Mama Kim calmed down. Mrs. Kim had some sort of respect for Dave, maybe it was because that she thought he was Christian enough, or because Dave was genuinely likable, but Mama Kim did calm down. Lane was slightly jealous of Dave for being able to make her mother listen but she had just been happy that she and Dave were able to continue their relationship more openly. It was very complicated though, too complicated for Lane. She and Dave had broken up for a span of two weeks "for the band." They had fought about some stupid thing but soon enough they were back together and Lane didn't care if she was never to date another guy again, she loved Dave. Kind of like Paris loved Jamie and Rory loved Jess. Well, maybe the Rory/Jess situation was more complicated than hers and Dave's in fact more complicated. That was when Lane's though drifted back to her best friend.

_(At Rory, Paris and Jamie's apartment in __New Haven_

Paris flung open the door to the apartment and stepped in moving out of the doorway for Jamie to carry the sleeping Liza in. Rory and Tristan were not far behind them. They had taken a detour and stopped for supper on the way home. Rory had been able to pull herself together by that time but had remained silent all through the meal. Jamie placed Liza on the couch for the time being and headed into the kitchen to brew some coffee for the rest of them, specifically Rory. As Rory entered the house she went directly to the single couch and curled up on it resting her head on the arm rest. Tristan stood uncomfortable in the room waiting for someone to say something to him. "Sit Tristan," Paris finally ordered.

"I don't know," Tristan rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I think maybe I should head home."

"Where exactly is home?" Jamie wondered from the kitchen.

"Boston," Tristan revealed.

"Stay here," Rory whispered into the couch, "Boston's too far."

"I couldn't," Tristan shook his head, "I'd be intruding."

"No," Rory shook her head, "You can stay in Liza's room. I'll put her in my bed."

"You sure?" Tristan asked. Paris could tell that he was really tired and that he didn't feel like driving all the way to Boston.

"Yeah," Rory nodded smiling slightly. Both Paris and Tristan recognized it as the friendly smile Rory had often offered both of them back in high school when they had been on friendly terms.

"Okay then," Tristan grinned, "I could always stay on the couch though."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jamie waved him off handing Rory a cup of coffee, "Liza sleeps with Rory half the time anyways."

"Well, if it's not too much trouble," Tristan shrugged. Paris laughed shaking her head and took a cup of coffee from Jamie who had gone into the kitchen and returned with two more cups. The other he handed to Tristan who refused thanking Jamie though. Paris looked over to Rory who was fingering the top of her coffee cup staring into the black liquid in the cup and then her gaze fell back on Tristan who she had not seen since High School. She remembered that for the longest time she had had a crush on him. He had been the initial trigger to her hating Rory.

"I'm going to bed," Rory rose from the couch sipping the last of her coffee, "Night."

"Good night Rory," they all muttered watching her pick up Liza and head off to her room. Then slowly the three others followed each heading to their respectable rooms. Jamie showed Tristan where he was going to spend the night before heading off to sleep.

_(The Next Day.)___

Rory opened her eyes slowly as her alarm broke through the silence of the morning. Liza was still sound asleep next to her. As Rory's mind began to wake up the occurrences of the previous night came flooding back. She sat up in bed and noticed Tristan leaning against her doorway, watching her. She half-smiled at him and pushed her covers back stepping out of the warmth the bed offered her making sure not to disturb the sleeping four-year old. "Good morning," she greeted almost cheerfully, "Sleep well?"

"That bed is small," Tristan revealed, "But I managed." Rory caught Tristan's sly grin as she walked past into the hall. He hadn't changed all that much since High School.

"You always do," Rory said playfully sending him a wink, "Close the door for me please. I don't want her up yet." Tristan nodded shutting the door to the bedroom and thinking about how much 'his Mary' had changed before following Rory to the kitchen where Paris and Jamie already sat eating their breakfast. They nodded their good mornings as Rory poured herself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Feeling better Gilmore?" Paris wondered, "We've got that presentation today."

"You won't let me forget," Rory reminded her friend, "Yes I'm better, and I'm ready." Paris nodded still unsure. Tristan stood watching the three interact.

"You do remember that I've got that interview right?" Jamie wondered. Rory nodded.

"Sure, and Jess will be here to watch Liza," Rory's voice faltered as she mentioned Jess' name, "I'll be fine."

"Great," Paris smiled, "Then you won't mind if Jamie picks me up from school? We're going out. You'll have to relieve Jess of his fatherly duties." Something flickered in Rory's eyes as Paris said this.

"Yeah, sure," She turned away as he eyes began to water slightly. She didn't want anyone else to notice that she was still vulnerable. They all knew though. Rory then noticed Tristan shifting uncomfortable in his spot looking around the kitchen.

"Bread and cereal are in that cupboard," she pointed to the door behind Tristan, "Take anything you like and stay as long as you want." Tristan nodded thankfully as he filed through the cupboard. Rory shook her head as a smile reappeared on her face. She ducked under Tristan's arms making room for herself to fit and grabbed Liza's cereal of the shelf. Tristan looked at her sceptically. "Can't help it," Rory shrugged, "I'm hooked."

_(Outside the apartment.)_

Jess was early, he knew it. Somehow he hadn't been able to wait to get here and yet now that he was here he wished that he had waited. He heard the faint voices of people inside the apartment. At least he knew he wouldn't be waking anyone up. Running his hands through his hair he lifted his closed fist to knock on the door but dropped it back to his side in mid air. He tried this again but failed. He knew that the minute he walked through that door he would officially become a father. Maybe not to Liza or Rory but to himself because he knew that he would have an obligation to himself to give this girl a father. He didn't want her to grow up not knowing her father like it had been for him. He wanted to be there, to see this little girl grow into a beautiful woman like her mother had been, still was.

Finally, mustering up his courage, Jess knocked on the door once. He waited a few seconds and heard a voice approaching. He immediately recognized as Rory's. The door swung open revealing Rory her hair tied up in a messy pony tail, still wearing her baby-blue pyjamas. Looking past her Jess saw Jamie and Paris in the kitchen looking their way and another man whom Jess did not recognize. "Hey, you're early," Rory pointed out. She was smiling but Jess noticed her eyes weren't twinkling as he remembered they used to when she smiled at him.

"I know," Jess shrugged trying to sound nonchalant, "Just wanted to miss the traffic."

"Well, come in," Rory opened the door wider and stepped back allowing Jess to enter, "We're just eating breakfast. Liza's still sleeping." Jess nodded and stuffed his hands in his pocket looking around the rather large apartment. They entered the kitchen and Jess inspected this room as well. It looked rather neat as opposed to Lorelai and Luke's kitchen back in Stars Hollow. Very unlike a Gilmore girl, then again Paris lived here as well.

"Hey Jess," Jamie greeted. Jess nodded hello and noticed Paris remained quiet focusing on the newspaper article she was reading. He knew Paris didn't quite like him much, or anyone for that matter.

"Oh Jess, this is Tristan," Rory pointed to the stranger, "He went to Chilton for a while before his father sent him off to Military school. Tristan this is Jess. You two have quite a bit in common including a great disliking of Dean." Jess and Tristan shook hands. Just then Liza entered the kitchen rubbing sleep from her eyes and dragging Boo behind her.

"Momma..." but she trailed off she noticed Jess standing in the kitchen. She smiled brightly at him and chirped, "Jess!"

"Hey kid," Jess waved, "Looks like we're spending the day together." Liza nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm going to get ready for class," Rory announced kissing her daughter's head, "Later Jess, Tristan." Rory exited the room, followed by Paris and Jamie leaving Tristan, Liza and Jess alone.

"Twistan is still here too!" Liza said pointing to Tristan, "You staying too?"

"Nope," Tristan shook his head, "Got to get back to Boston."

"That's were Grampa lives," Liza informed them, "With the wicked witch and Georgia."

"Wicked witch?" Jess and Tristan wondered.

"Uh-huh," Liza nodded, "That's what Grams calls her."

"Figures," Jess shrugged and turned to Tristan, "So, you didn't like Bag Boy?"

"Farmer Brown?" Tristan inquired, "No."

"He's a jerk," Jess stated. Tristan nodded in agreement. Silence ensued as Liza made her way to her mother's half-empty cereal bowl and began to eat.

Tristan watched Jess. So, this was the man who stole Rory's heart from Dean and then broke it. He could see a resemblance between him and Liza. Tristan envied Jess though. He had gotten Rory. Something Tristan and tried long and hard to do. He had been the one who swept Rory for Dean and took him out of the picture. Jess was the one who had her love now and forever. Tristan found himself not minding as much as he thought he would. He was content being Rory's friend, especially after the previous day.

Paris, Rory and Jamie returned primped and ready for the day ahead of them. Rory and Paris said good bye grabbing their book bags and fled out the door, Tristan not far behind them needing to get back to Boston that day. Jamie after giving Jess a tour of the house and instructions on when Liza was to eat and so on was off for the day as well. Jess looked around the apartment and then at his four year old daughter. This was it. It was time for him to become a father to this little girl. He hoped to god he did well.


	9. Home Videos

**Family Portrait**

**A/N:**I'm so sorry that I didn't update sooner than this. I was busy with school and other things. Well, I'm just going to get on with the story. This chapter is going to focus mainly on Jess and Liza. I have a pretty good idea as to what's going to happen. On with it!

**Chapter 9: Home Videos**

"LIZA!" Jess grumbled, looking under the couch in the living room. Not even five minutes into his little baby-sitting session and he had already lost the kid. He had turned around for one second and she had disappeared from the kitchen table where she had been just seconds earlier. He heard her soft giggling coming from down the hall where the bedrooms where. Quietly, Jess creeped over and caught sight of the four year old peaking out of the crack of her door, the minute she saw Jess she jumped back in and closed the door. Jess approached the door and knocked lightly on it. "Liza..." he tested.

"GO AWAY!" the girl exclaimed from inside, "I'm getting dressed!"

"Do...do you..." Jess hesitated, "Do you need help?"

"NO!" she shouted. Jess leaned his head against the wall and sighed before heading into the living room. He wasn't cut out for this job. Sitting on the couch he waited for Liza to come out of her room. What was he supposed to do? Barge in? She might be his kid biologically, but Jess still hadn't become a father to her, not yet.

A few minutes later, the door to the room creaked open and Jess smirked as he stared at the TV, waiting for her. Listening carefully to the light patter of her feet Jess estimated exactly where she stood in the room. He leaned back a bit and then flicked the channel, waiting for her to announce herself. "Jess..." he heard her light whisper from behind the couch. Jess turned around slightly to face the child. She was wearing a pink t-shirt backwards, her jeans were unbuttoned and there was a brush stuck in her thick hair.

"What?" Jess asked, holding back a laugh.

"Can you help me?" the girl stuck out her lower lip, pouting. Jess rolled his eyes and motioned for the girl to come around the couch. Then, he zipped and buttoned her jeans. As he went to turn her shirt the right way around, Liza giggled. Jess shook his head and fixed her shirt. Then he went for the hair. As he slowly brushed her hair trying not to pull at the knots Liza screamed and cried squirming under the brush. Jess groaned, this was not something he ever thought he would have to do.

"The more you move the more it'll hurt," Jess informed the girl, who immediately stopped worming around. As Jess finished un-knotting her hair, the four year old scrambled away and over to the TV. She sat in front of the TV and opened a drawer right underneath the wooden table on which the TV sat. She began moving things around, but from where Jess sat on the couch he could not see the contents of the drawer. He stood up and walked across the room to where his tiny daughter sat.

"Can I watch a movie?" the girl asked, she looked up wide-eyed at Jess holding up some video that was unmarked. "Jamie always lets me watch a movie," she informed.

"Whatever," Jess shrugged, looking at the drawer filled with movies. All the tapes were used blank tapes with their titles scrawled across on the white sticker applied in Rory's elegant handwriting.

"Pick one!" Liza exclaimed holding up two videocassettes. Jess took both from the little girl's outstretched hand and looked them over. Across one was written _Peter Pan, Peter Pan 2 and Cinderella _and the other had _Home Videos _on it and had dust piled. Jess handed Liza the one filled with Disney magic and stared curiously at the other tape wondering what its contents could possible be.

"You seen this one?" He questioned the girl, "The videos your mom taped?" The girl shook her head, her brown hair whipping against her cheeks. "You want to?" Jess inquired and the girl shrugged. The last thing Jess wanted was to sit and watch corny Disney movies all day, and the Home Videos didn't seem like a better option but Jess' curiosity got the best of him. He ordered Liza back to the couch and slipped the video into the VCR. Grabbing the remote from where he had placed it on the table Jess pressed the PLAY button and sat down next to Liza on the couch. Within seconds the image appeared.

**_New Years, 2002/03 _**the black screen read before changing.

_ Paris frowned, "Dave! Turn that off!" _

_"Come on Paris, live a little!" Jamie laughed appearing behind his girlfriend, "It's New Years, let Dave play with his new toy." _

_"As long as the camera is **away **from me he can play with it all he wants," Paris declared. From behind the camera, Dave's laugh could be heard. The image shifted away from the couple and focused on Lane. They were outside the Gilmore home, that much was obvious and Lane was grinning brightly at the Camera. _

_"Let's go inside!" Lane exclaimed, "We're already late." The agreements of Paris and Jamie were faint because the image was already moving towards the door. Dave's hand appeared on screen as he knocked on the door to the Gilmore home. Within seconds party sounds filled the air and Lorelai Gilmore appeared from behind the door. _

_ "Ooh!" Lorelai smiled brightly at the camera, "A camera! Just because you're making me famous I won't be mad that you're the last ones here!" Lorelai moved out of the doorway and Lane, Paris, and Jamie filed in. The image circled around the Gilmore living room filled with the smiling faces of the Stars Hollow residence. The Image stopped moving as it reached Jess and Rory in the far corner of the room, kissing. The camera approached them and finally the two pulled away. _

_"Oh, god," Jess mumbled. As he turned around, the Camera focused solely on his face. _

"Hey!" Liza exclaimed from next to Jess, "Dat's you!"

"Yeah," Jess said distractedly as he watched the video. Rory had now entered the picture; her eyes twinkled in delight as she clung to Jess' arm and kissed his cheek. She didn't know yet, Jess realized. At that moment she was carrying their child and she didn't know, or did she?

"Whatcha doing with mommy?" Liza asked.

"Having a good time," Jess replied before his attention shifted back to the video.

_"Dave, where's Lane?" Rory asked the camera, her smile still wide and joyous._

_"Somewhere," Dave's off-camera reply came, "Probably getting something to drink." Jess was trying to edge away from the camera but he couldn't without dragging Rory away with him. She held his arm tightly pulling him back into the glare of the camera next to her. _

_"Geez Jess," she sighed, looking at him, "The Camera's not going to kill you." Jess muttered some comment under his breath, but it was unheard by the camera. It was not unheard by Rory. "It's New Year's!" she exclaimed scolding, "It's the one day of the year you are allowed to not be a rebel." _

_"You said that about Christmas," Jess reminded her. Rory leaned in and kissed Jess lightly on the lips, to remind him why he was doing this. Jess wrapped his arms around Rory and deepened the kiss. _

_"I think I'll go find Lane," Dave announced as the Camera turned away from the lovers. Luke appeared on the screen, without his baseball cap and was looking pointedly in the direction of Rory and Jess. "Luke!" Dave greeted. Luke turned towards the screen and his frown seemed to deepen. _

_"Get that thing away," Luke ordered. Trying to slip out of the camera's view, but Dave just followed Luke's movement, seemingly amused. _

_"Aww..." Lorelai cooed, appearing beside Luke, "Is Lukey afraid of the camera?" _

_"No!" Luke declared, "I just-I don't like them!" _

_"Like Uncle like Nephew," Dave sing-songed. Luke turned to glare at the camera. _

_"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. _

_"Just that it seems that camera-shyness runs in the family," Dave replied, "And look, there's Lane." The perky Korean girl appeared once again, holding two drinks in hand. She titled her head at the camera and smiled slightly. _

_"Dave, turn that off for a while," Lane suggested, "Come have a drink and relax." _

_"Hey, who else is going to get this town on tape?" Dave wondered. Lane shrugged and gave him a pleadingly look. The screen went black. _

Jess stared at the blackness. His mind drifted back to that night. How Rory seemed to glitter with delight to be able to spend New Year's Eve with her boyfriend and her friends. He also remembered how at Midnight, after their kiss he had made his resolution, his secret promise to her, the promise that he would try harder and be a better boyfriend to her, calling when he was supposed to, and getting along with her friends. He had broken that promise. It wasn't completely his fault; Rory had shut him out of her life. He had never understood why until that night at Lorelai and Luke's when he had discovered the existence of Liza, his daughter.

With the thought of Liza, Jess was brought back to reality. The four year old was speaking and Jess tuned into what she was saying. "You and Mommy kissed like Grams and Luke do," Liza said, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "It's yicky." Jess fidgeted in his spot on the couch, how was he, the man of few words, supposed to explain to a four year old why he and her mother kissed in such a way. Images still flashed on screen, images that meant nothing to Jess, images of Lane and the band playing and Jess ignored them as he tried to think of an answer.

"Well...uh...sometimes..." Jess mumbled. He had never had to have anyone explain things like this to him. He had never had a relationship with his father; he didn't know how one was supposed to behave towards a child that was his own. His mother wasn't the best parent either. Then, as he looked into his daughter's innocent eyes he felt fear flutter through him. This girl was oblivious to the evil in the world. She knew only the fairy tale wonders of the land. Everything was good and happy; she did not know the dark side. Jess suddenly felt an even huger weight on his shoulders. He was her father, he had to protect her and keep the innocence in her. He felt unlike himself then. The words came to him like his love for Rory had come to him. "Sometimes when people love each other, they kiss like that," Jess announced, "To show each other their love."

"Do you still kiss mommy like that?" Liza asked.

"No," Jess shook his head. A guilty feeling rumbled in his stomach and he already knew the next question coming up.

"How come?" the four year old was swinging her legs over back and forth over the couch, "Don't you love mommy?"

Suddenly, Jess realized that the questions would keep getting more and more difficult, and that the first was the easiest to answer after all. How was he supposed to answer a question he himself wasn't sure the answer to? Did he love Rory? The answer used to be as clear as day to him when he lived in Stars Hollow, even before they ever got together Jess had been sure he loved Rory. Now, four years into the future he wasn't supposed to love her anymore. He had a girlfriend and a life in New York. Rory was supposed to be past. The girl who got away, yes, but he was supposed to have gotten over her.

He felt Liza's eyes burning into him and he brought himself to turn and stare into her eyes. She had eyes like her mother but speckled with a tinge of brown. Jess wondered if the brown would fade away through the years and leave her with eyes identical to her mother's. Eyes filled with love, forgiveness and joy. Eyes that haunted Jess wherever he went trying to force him to force him to answer one of the hardest questions in the world, to him, did he still love Rory Gilmore? Looking into the eyes of the four year old he knew that she was waiting as patiently as she could for the answer. "I don't know," he responded truthfully and the repeated the words quietly to himself, "I don't know."

Liza looked as if she were about to follow-up his answer with another question but her eyes darted back to the TV. The band had finished playing their number and Rory had appeared on screen, she shouted something out to whoever was behind the camera, and then it went off. The black reappeared and then text magically appeared on the black.

**_March 14, 2003_**

_ The black faded to the whiteness of a hospital. People of all different ages were scattered around, some with children and some very much pregnant. The camera zoomed over to five of the people in particular. Lane, Lorelai, Paris, and Jamie all smiled at the camera as Luke's glare bore into it. Lorelai noticed Luke and hit him on the arm. "Be happy!" she exclaimed, "We're about to find out the sex of my Grand-baby!" _

_"And you're happy?" Luke grunted, "I swear, if I ever get my hands on Jess..." _

_"Hey! Get in line!" Lorelai protested, "It's a long one too, I'll squeeze you in before Taylor though." _

_"How thoughtful," Luke frowned. _

_"Okay, happy day remember?" Lane reminded, "Let's not think about killing, or hurting Jess right now. Let's focus on what we're going to name the kid." _

_"Fine," Lorelai mumbled and folded her arms across her chest, pouting. _

Jess stared at the screen thoughtfully as the others began to suggest different names for Rory's kid. Funny thing was that when Jess had showed up in Stars Hollow one day in early September Luke had hid very well any inkling of hatred for him. He wondered how much it had killed Lorelai and Luke all those times he visited and they hadn't been able to bite his head of about getting Rory pregnant.

"Why does Grams and Luke and Lane want to kill you?" Liza wondered. Jess was, once again, pulled back into reality by the girl's questions.

"Because," was Jess' only reply. He knew that Rory didn't want him telling Liza he was her father yet; he didn't feel it was the time himself. So, without giving that little bit of information away there was no better way to answer the question.

"Because why?" Liza persisted. Jess was saved though because the camera's vision had turned to reveal Rory approaching the group.

_Rory smiled radiantly and the group rushed towards her. "So? So?" _

_"What's the verdict?" Dave asked, in a tone of authority, "Will it be a girl or a boy?" _

_"It's a girl!" Rory's grin grew more radiant by the second. _

_"IT'S A LORELAI!" at the top of her lungs and the camera slowly showed that the whole room was staring at the group with curiosity and some even giving Lorelai dirty looks for disturbing their quiet wait for the doctor to see them. The girls, Paris, Lane and Lorelai were all cooing and hovering around Rory as she showed them the picture of the baby from the sonogram. Luke and Jamie sat back waiting patiently to be addressed and the camera moved towards the girls them. _

_"Hey, Rory, show us the baby," Dave demanded, "One day you can show Little Lorelai what she looked like in your stomach." _

_"Do you **ever** put that camera down?" Paris asked unenthused._

_"Paris, one day you'll be glad he took these videos," Rory assured, "I mean we're all going to want to remember this day and what better way than to have it on tape? Also, it's a good device to torture you mercilessly years from now at reunions."_

_"That's my daughter!" Lorelai announced merrily, looking around the room pointing at Rory. The patients in the waiting room gave her weary looks and the nurse behind the counter could be heard laughing merrily as she called someone into the check-up room. _

_"So, are you going to hold it up or not?" Dave wondered._

_ Rory rolled her eyes and sighed, holding up the sonogram picture, the baby was barely visible, she was so tiny. The picture disappeared and Rory's face appeared on screen again. She looked at the sonogram picture, a flash of sadness in her eyes that only Lane seemed to catch onto because she wrapped her arms around Rory and began to whisper something in her ear. Rory managed a small laugh. Jamie approached and took the picture from Rory and Luke stood behind him looking at it. _

_"How can you tell?" Luke wondered. The camera turned on him. _

_"Tell what?" Rory's off-camera reply came. _

_"That it's a girl," he answered. The camera recoiled so that the whole group was visible. Lorelai stood leaning on Luke's arm trying to see the picture again and Rory stood in between Paris and Lane facing the other three. _

_"I can't really," Rory admitted, "But the doctor could and she said it was a girl, so..." _

_"What do you think she'll look like?" Lane ventured. _

_"I bet she'll have my eyes!" Lorelai exclaimed. Rory smiled faintly at her mother. _

_"I bet she will too," was the expectant mother's sigh. _

_"She'll be beautiful, just like her mother," Luke assured Rory and handed the picture back to Rory, who in turn gave Luke a huge hug. _

_ The two pulled away and Luke seemed to be blushing slightly. Lorelai laughed and Luke glared at her before Lorelai wiped the glare away by kissing Luke on the lips. The camera got a close up of the whole group as they collected their coats and purses and the screen went black just as they exited the hospital waiting room. _

"What was that pitchur?" Liza wanted to know immediately after the camera had turned off. Jess sighed. This girl certainly was a Gilmore.

"You," Jess replied quickly, basking in the fact that he had been able to witness a moment in the past he hadn't been there too. Jess wasn't one for regrets but if he did have one, though. He regretted acting the way he had, for making it seem impossible for Rory to believe that she could tell him that she was pregnant.

"Dat's me?" Liza queried, "I'm small."

"Huh," Jess grunted in response not looking at the little girl next to him, he did want to look at Liza right now. Within seconds another section of the video started and Liza slid off the couch and made her way over to the TV. Jess sat silently watching it all.

**_August 17, 2003 _**the date read.

_ The camera opened to the backs of Lane and Rory. They were in the Gilmore home, in Rory's room. The girls were oblivious to the camera's presence behind them as it snuck closer and their whispers became clear._

_"So, what did the doctor say?" Lane was asking. _

_"Nothing out of the ordinary," Rory shrugged, "Just that I should take things easy for the next few weeks and that I've been too stressed out lately for both my good and the good of the baby." _

_"Well, he's right," Lane stated. _

_ The camera's image bounced around from floor to ceiling, there was a bang and then both the faces of Rory and Lane appeared on screen, looking confusedly at the camera. Rory's face was beautiful and her stomach rounded from eight months of pregnancy, in her hands was a bag of chips, which she munched on as she watched the camera. Lane looked the same as always save that her hair was slightly longer. _

_"Dave!" Lane exclaimed, "What **are **you doing?" _

_"Nothing," Dave insisted, both woman rolled their eyes. _

_"Nothing, right," Lane sighed, "What am I going to do with you?" _

_"C'mon Lane give him a break," Rory insisted, "He hasn't filmed us in what? Three months?" _

_"Five," was Dave's reply, there was a beat and then, "So, what's this about you being stressed?" _

_"Well first it was exams, then graduation and now what I'm going to do come September when I'm due for college and to have a baby," Rory explained, "I have to relax or I'll hurt the baby or induce labor a little too early." _

_"Other than that the baby is healthy right?" Lane asked. _

_"Yeah," Rory nodded. She stood up and wobbled over to the mirror, gazing at her belly, "Anyway, the baby is big enough already. In one month I'll be the size of an elephant." _

_"Hah! Runs in the family babe," Lorelai entered the room carrying a basket of clothes, "You should've seen how big my stomach was with you in it!" _

_"Do we have chocolate?" Rory wondered. Lorelai and Lane shook their heads, exasperated. _

_"God, even I didn't eat as much as she did when I was pregnant," Lorelai stepped out of Rory's way she intently headed towards the kitchen, "And I was two years younger on top of that and I didn't even get to drink coffee." _

_"Well, I think Luke feels a bit guilty," Lane sighed. _

_"I know," Lorelai plopped down on Rory's bed, "I guess he feels kind of responsible because according the Rory the night "it" happened I had dragged Luke out to the festivities against his will. He thinks he didn't keep a close enough eye on Jess." _

_"It probably would've happened anyway," Rory said. The camera focused on her as she wobbled back into her room, "I mean, if not at the diner here, or somewhere else. I think it was kind of inevitable." Rory had a sad look in her eyes, "I mean, I was ready. I loved Jess and I know he loved me." _

_"She's right," Lorelai shrugged, "It probably would've happened anyway. I remember how resourceful Chris and I were."_

_"Maybe I should turn this off..." Dave began, but before he could Rory yelped in pain. The camera swung in her direction and Rory held her stomach and leaned over slightly. _

_"Rory? Rory are you alright?" Lane and Lorelai had rushed over to her side. Rory nodded fiercely but winced, as another sharp pain seemed to have hit her _

_"Uh-oh!" Rory managed as she clinged to her stomach, "I think I might've just induced labor." _

_"What?" Lorelai and Lane stared at Rory in shock. _

_"Um...my water just broke," Rory announced, staring at the floor, "I'm having the baby." _

_The camera went off as Lorelai and Lane began shrieking inaudible orders. _

"Mommy had a big stomach," Liza declared. The screen remained black and it seemed that the movie was over, Jess felt almost regretful that there wasn't more. He wanted to see Liza as a baby, maybe see how Rory was with the baby and how she seemed to cope with an infant and college. There was no more though and Jess guessed it was because they had all started college and had been too busy to film, also the fact that Dave and Lane went to New York while Rory, Paris and Liza were in New Haven.

Liza jumped off the couch while Jess continued to stare at the black screen, contemplating everything that he had just seen. Jess barely noticed the four year old disappear down the hall; he barely even noticed that she was no longer sitting next to him bombarding him with thousands of questions about the movie and other things. When he finally did notice he was somewhat relieved that she was no longer nagging him, but realization soon kicked in. Groaning, Jess stood up.

"God, can't she just sit still for longer than two minutes at a time?" Jess muttered to himself as he searched around for the girl. He still had the rest of the day ahead of him and he had no idea what so ever when Rory, Paris or Jamie were going to return home to relieve him of his duties.

After five minutes of searching he still hadn't retrieved Liza. Jess cursed the girl for knowing how to hide so well in an apartment he didn't know anything about. The phone rang then and Jess cursed some more under his breath so that if the four year old was anywhere around she would not be able to hear him and repeat his foul words to her mother. He knew that Rory would not like it if Jess taught her daughter swear words. Remembering that he had seen a telephone in the living room Jess exited the rather small bathroom and headed to retrieve it. Rory, unfortunately, did not have caller ID so Jess would either have to answer the whole or ignore it completely. The ringing began to annoy him so he opted for answering it. "Hello?" he grumbled into the receiver.

_"Hey, Jess, how's Liza doing?" _It was Rory. Jess sat on the couch heaving a sigh. This was just what he needed. He couldn't find Liza and now Rory was calling to check up on him.

"She's fine, we just finished- uh- watching a movie," Jess managed.

_"Good, good," Rory sounded pleased by the news, "Uh, its just I didn't know how you would manage so...um...can I talk to her?" _

"Actually Ror, we are...Uh..." Jess thought quickly thinking up an excuse for Rory not to talk to her daughter, "Paying...uh...Hide and Seek."

_"You're playing hide and go seek?" Rory seemed to be suppressing a laugh through her surprise, "Uh...I'll be home in a few hours. Uh...Have fun." _

"Sure," Jess grumbled unenthusiastically as he hung up the phone, "I'll have tons of fun." Rory did not hear the second part of his sentence this with sarcasm because Jess had already hung up the telephone. Jess had changed a lot over the years, but he still was not one to play games with kids, and he sure was not ready to be a father. He hoped one day he would be.

Until then, he had to find Liza, quickly.

"LIZA!" Jess shouted, for the second time that morning, "LIZA! Come on!" Jess sighed, he didn't know how Rory managed this everyday, and he could barely make it through an hour with the kid.


	10. Wanting

****

Family Portrait

A/N: I know it's been a while but I just thought up this idea as to what's going to happen next. I promise the readers of 'Tale Untold' that I'll continue that story very, very soon. In fact I've already started the next chapter. So, never fear you will get more of that story soon. 

****

Chapter 10 Wanting

Rory Gilmore was exhausted. In between stressing over leaving Jess with Liza and her classes Rory had to deal with Paris' incessant reminders of their presentation at the end of the day. She felt like she was back at high school, almost. Now, she stood at the front of her class as Paris finished their presentation. Rory's fellow students clapped politely before their hands began to rise up with arguments to their speech. This was something Rory loved most about. Everyone was always eager to share his or her serious opinion on subjects. But today Rory just wanted to go home and relieve Jess of his fatherly duties. 

It wasn't that Jess had sounded distressed on the phone when she had checked up on him. Even if he had been Rory knew that Jess would never let on that he was. He was good at hiding his emotions. That was one thing Rory was sure hadn't changed about him. It was more the fact that Jess was in her apartment with her daughter that made Rory want to rush home. 

Maybe she wanted to walk in and catch them in a father/daughter moment. That maybe if she walked into her apartment and saw them together she could pretend for one second that they were a family. She wanted to see Jess. See how he interacted with Liza after spending a whole day with her. Rory wanted to stand there in her apartment and for one-second make-believe that she was not a twenty-two year old single mother. 

Paris Gellar nudged Rory then, making her forget for the moment about Jess and Liza and answer one of the student's questions about her section of the speech. The whole time she could feel Paris' eyes watching her, trying to see into her mind and figure out what she was thinking and feeling so she could run off and report to Lane and Lorelai. It was something that Rory had been noticing since she had woken up that morning. Paris was keeping a closer eye on her than Rory would've liked. They were waiting for her to break. 

She knew it was coming too. The incident at Gas Station was nothing compared to what Rory knew could happen. She had had a melt down, yes. She had fallen to the floor of a Gas Station and allowed Tristan DuGray to comfort her, to drive her home. But that was just the beginning. Rory could feel what was coming. She dreaded what was coming. Jess was back in her life. He was the father of her child, her one true love and he was dating someone else. She would have to see him often now. See her. She could feel everything slowly unraveling. She was sad, hurt, but that was it. Rory was not depressed. She was happy with her life, she didn't need to see a psychiatrist or be on Prozac. She needed to move on. 

So, as Paris looked after her, keeping her mother and best friend posted on her emotional state Rory began to prepare mentally for the worst. It wasn't that she wanted to break down. She just needed to. Get all the pain and hurt out of her system. As Jess took care of their daughter, Rory tried to pin point what had made her the way she was. Was it Jess' fault? Giving in so easily when she pushed him away. Was it that he had gone and never even tried to argue? Or was it her fault? Pushing him away. She couldn't remember when the sudden fits of unhappiness started. 

She was not depressed. 

She couldn't be. Depression was a chemical defect. Something than ran in the family. She had read Elizabeth Wurtzel's _Prozac Nation_. She knew the symptoms of Depression. She had even been to a psychiatrist without letting anyone else know. As far as any doctor could tell she was fine. Her family had no history of mental or emotional problems. It was just her. She was just unhappy with some aspects of her life. Her marital status being the main thing. 

Rory loved her daughter to death. When she was with Liza the whole world seemed to brighten. During classes at Yale Rory felt at home, she was smart and had friends she loved everything about college. It was just in those moments when she crawled into her double bed and there was no one there next to her to keep her warm. Or the nights that Paris and Jamie went out on a date and Rory was left to sit alone on the couch and flick through the channels on television or watch a movie. It was the aspect of being alone that made Rory unhappy. The aspect of not having a boyfriend, a fiancé or a husband. 

The dating scene wasn't really something Rory was able to be actively involved in. Men who she met in public places usually were scared off as soon as Liza came running to Rory calling her 'mommy' and the others she actually went out on a date with she was usually too preoccupied with her motherly duties to get to know. Either way, she hardly ever went out with the same guy twice. It was something about the responsibility that came with dating a single mother that no one seemed up to take. 

Tristan did though. Tristan had given Rory his number _after _he had met Liza. He had surprised Rory in many ways since she had met up with him in the grocery store. Starting with how he had given her his number. How he had effortlessly allowed her to cry on his shoulder at the gas station and then taken her home. How he had spent the night and had been civil with Jess. Rory had known Tristan to be an insensitive jerk in high school. He had changed. Somewhat at least, Rory could tell that there was still a lot of the old Tristan there. 

Yet the black void that was Jess would always prevent her from being anything more than friends with Tristan or any other guy for that matter. She was always comparing them to Jess. She wanted the banter, the discussions over books, the feeling she felt every time she was anywhere near him, and the feeling of his warm lips on own. No one seemed to be able to give her everything that Jess had. Not one guy could compare in Rory's mind. 

Class was over. Rory had lost track of time and the class was slowly filing out of the room, Paris standing in front of her with a look of concern. Rory sighed and gathered up her things, ignoring Paris. But her roommate and one of her best friends would not let her go without some sort of explanation for her distant behavior throughout the class. "What?" Rory turned to Paris, who was still watching Rory's every movement. 

"Where'd you go Gilmore?" Paris asked, "One minute you were answering a question and the next you were standing there like a zombie. I had to answer three other questions directed to your section of the speech." 

"I'm sorry Paris," Rory grumbled, heading up the stairs of the lecture room and out into the hall. Her lap top bag slung over her shoulder and textbooks gripped in her arms. 

"Sorry? Gilmore, you've been like this all day," Paris pointed out, "What is with you?" 

"Nothing," Rory assured Paris, "You and Jamie are going to drop me off at the apartment right?" 

"It's about Jess isn't it?" Paris accused, ignoring Rory's changing of subjects.

"It's nothing," Rory repeated, looking Paris straight in the eyes, "Now, can we just go meet Jamie now?" 

"Fine," Paris relented, "But this isn't over." 

"It is," Rory stated, "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, okay! I just zoned out that's all." Paris shrugged, remaining silent but Rory could tell that she didn't believe a word she has just said. 

Instead on continuing with the concerned friend act Paris just walked alongside Rory to Jamie's car. Jamie looked between the two, surprised that they were not arguing or even talking for that matter. For Paris and Rory to not be debating something, something big must've happened. "What's up with you two?" Jamie asked, as the two slid into the car. 

"Nothing," Paris muttered, "How was the interview?" 

"It was good," Jamie announced, "I'll hear from them by the end of the week on whether I got the job or not. I'm almost sure I got it." 

"Congratulations," Rory commended, forcing a smile. 

"Thanks," Jamie nodded, as he pulled away from Yale and headed towards their apartment.

The rest of the drive was silent and uneventful. Jamie glanced at Paris every few minutes, who in turn kept a constant watch on Rory through the rear view mirror. When they pulled into the front of the apartment Rory was more than eager to get out of the car. She thanked Jamie for the lift and waved goodbye to Paris and walked hurriedly into the apartment. 

Nodding hello to her neighbor, Mrs. Aberman, Rory slid her apartment key into the lock and then opened the door. Stepping into the apartment Rory felt flooded with relief. Forgetting for a second that Jess somewhere in the apartment Rory dropped her bag and tossed her books onto the coffee table heading to the kitchen to grab a snack. It had been a long day. 

Remembering why she had been stressed for most of the day Rory stopped and looked around the apartment from the kitchen while taking a bite of her chocolate bar. For a apartment that held two collegians, a college graduate and a four year old it was unusually silent. Jess and Liza were no where in sight. Rory furrowed her eyebrows and walked out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom, listening carefully for any noise in the apartment. Nothing. "Liza?" she called out, "Jess?" 

No answer. 

"Anybody home?" she tested. 

There was no answer again. 

Rory was beginning to worry slightly now. Could Jess have taken Liza out somewhere? She headed back to the living room and then the kitchen checking for a note indicating that Jess could've gone on a drive with Liza. There was nothing. Deciding that she would be better off checking the bedrooms Rory headed back to the hall she had just left. Upon opening the door to Liza's room what Rory saw made her miss a breath. 

It was an image that Rory knew she would carry with her until the end of time. Jess, the cynical monosyllabic bad boy from New York she had met when he moved in with his uncle what seemed like centuries ago, was sleeping on Liza's bed with his daughter and a book by his side. The father/daughter duo looked so peaceful then. For a second you could forget what a dysfunctional family they actually were. Rory had gotten what she hoped for. A moment where she could stand in the entrance to her daughter's room and pretend that the past four years had been a dream. That she had told Jess she had been pregnant, that they had gotten married and were happily raising their daughter together. 

Instead of making Rory happy at this picture, it filled her with sadness. She couldn't pretend. She didn't want to. Jess was the father of her child, yes. But in his mind he had only become a father two days before. Jess had a different life now. He lived in New York, went to college, and had a girlfriend who he seemed to truly care for. They were miles apart and the only thing that seemed to connect them still was Liza. Rory loved him with all her heart but she feared that what in making the choices she had she had prevented them from every really being a family. 

They were still young. Jess and Kate could break up some day. But would they ever have the perfect timing again. When he had wanted her she had been with Dean, when she had wanted him he had been with Shane. Then, things had turned around for them. They had gotten together and had a relationship. And then? Then Rory had gotten pregnant. She had sabotaged her relationship with Jess for her child. For Jess and for herself as well. What good had that done for her? She was single and staring in at the love of her life knowing that she couldn't have him no matter how much she wanted him. 

Rory sighed and walked over to the bed. She leaned over and nudged Jess with her hand. She was home now and there was no reason not to relieve Jess from babysitting. Jess' eyelids fluttered awake and he turned to see look at Rory. Managing a small smile Rory muttered a greeting, "Hey." 

"Hey," Jess mimicked, slowly getting out of the bed without disturbing Liza. 

"How'd it go?" Rory asked. 

"Fine," Jess responded. 

"Really?" Rory inquired, "Don't tell Luke. He usually has to spend the whole day trying to bribe her out of hiding." 

"Huh," Jess grunted, "Well, it was fine." 

"Good," Rory nodded, and then with a small smile added, "How'd you bribe her out?" 

"Chocolate," Jess replied, "And a story." 

"Thanks so much for this," Rory put in, as they walked towards the door, "I really appreciate it." 

"Any time," Jess shrugged, "I think I might be getting the hang of it. Almost." 

"I think I am too," Rory admitted, "Some days it's really hard, but others…" 

Jess nodded and opened the door, leaving, "Uh, Ror, I want to tell Kate about all this…" 

"Oh." 

"Yeah, and I was wondering if maybe I could take her to Stars Hollow Saturday to tell her," Jess shifted in his place. This had obviously been hard for him to say. 

"Oh," Rory began to shift uncomfortably as well, "Sure. Just let me know when." 

"Alright," Jess nodded slowly, "Bye." 

"Bye," Rory waved as she closed the door behind Jess. Then, Rory crumpled against the closed door. Just sitting there, not crying or screaming but sitting. 

The telephone rang loudly through the apartment and Rory got up to retrieve it. "Hello?" 

__

"Rory! Darling! How'd it go?" Lorelai chirped into the phone. 

"He said it went fine," Rory told her mother, "I came in and they were both asleep. Liza still is. But, mom, he wants to take her Saturday to tell Kate about who she is." 

__

"Oh, Rory," Lorelai cooed, "Honey, are you alright?" 

"Yeah," Rory lied. 

__

"Do you need to wallow?" Lorelai asked, "Cause I could be there in an hour with pizza, ice cream, and Love Story." 

"I don't need to wallow mom," Rory sighed, "I'm fine." 

__

"Do you have classes tomorrow?" Lorelai wanted to know. 

"No," Rory replied, confused as to what that had to do with Jess and Liza. 

__

"Okay, them promise me that you'll let Paris and Jamie take Liza for the day and you just have fun," Lorelai demanded, "Or wallow if you need to." 

"Mom, we're not going through this again, I don't need to wallow," Rory assured her mother. 

__

"Fine, fine," Lorelai relented, "Just a suggestion. I mean, remember what happened last time you didn't wallow?" 

"Mom," Rory said warningly, "I'm fine! I'm not going to show up at you door at six in the morning with a list. And I'm _not _going to go to some party with Lane and kiss Tristan." 

__

"Maybe you should," Lorelai suggested, "Kissing Tristan led you to wallowing." 

"I'm not sixteen anymore," Rory reminded Lorelai, "I'm not dating Dean anymore, I don't go to Chilton and I have a four year old daughter to take care of." 

__

"All the more reason to wallow and get it over with," Lorelai pointed out, "Come on Rory. I heard about what happened at the Gas Station. You need _to wallow." _

"Bye mom," Rory saluted, "I love you." Rory hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch. She reached over and grabbed the remote controller off the table and turned on the TV. She didn't flick the channels. She left the TV on whatever Soap Opera was on at that moment and dropped the remote on the couch next to her. 

Liza got up then. Bouncing into the room and then into Rory's arms. Rory smiled at her daughter, "Hey there kid. Have a good day with Jess." 

"Yes!" the four-year-old nodded enthusiastically. Liza slid off her mother's lap and onto the remote control. As the four-year-old pulled it out from underneath her she pressed the PLAY button and the characters on the screen changed into Rory, and Jess at New Years Eve four years ago. 

__

"Geez Jess," she sighed, looking at him, "The Camera's not going to kill you." Jess muttered some comment under his breath but it was unheard but the camera. It was not unheard by Rory. "It's New Year's!" she exclaimed scolding, "It's the one day of the year you are allowed to not be a rebel." 

"You said that about Christmas," Jess reminded her. Rory leaned in and kissed Jess lightly on the lips, to remind him why he was doing this. Jess wrapped his arms around Rory and deepened the kiss. 

Rory quickly grabbed the remote and stopped the movie. Still staring in shock at the television. Jess had said he had watched a movie, but he hadn't said one thing to indicate that it had been this movie. A movie that Rory had kept hidden in the back of that drawer for the longest time, never putting it into the VCR.

"Mommy?" Liza looked up at her mother. 

"Honey, did you and Jess watch this movie?" Rory asked. 

"Yeah," Liza nodded, "Jess says dat when people are in love dey kiss like dat!" 

"They do," Rory nodded. 

"Den I asked him how come he doesn't kiss you like that," Liza told her mother, "Because doesn't he love you? And he said he didn't know. Mommy how can not know if you love someone? Mommy do you love Jess?" 

"When you get older you'll understand," Rory sighed. And drew her daughter close to her, hugging her tightly as a tear finally escaped. 

~*~*~*~*~*

__

(Meanwhile, at the Kim/Rygalski apartment.)

Lane got off the phone with Lorelai for the third time that day. Lorelai, Paris and Lane had been in constant contact with each other throughout the day; Paris giving them updates on Rory. Lane had finally caved and called Lorelai telling her about what had happened at the gas station with Rory. Lorelai hadn't taken it as Paris and Lane had thought she would. 

The conversation that Lane and Lorelai had just finished had been about Rory as well. Paris had called to tell Lane about Rory's distant behavior throughout the day and then Lorelai had called Lane about a conversation she'd had with Rory. Things weren't looking good. Lane had been best friends with Rory since Kindergarten and other than Lorelai she knew Rory better than anyone. She had stood by Rory as she went through her relationship and break-up with Dean, her relationship with Jess and the pregnancy. 

It's not that she doubted Rory's emotional state, or thought that she was clinically depressed. She just knew that her best friend had never fully gotten over Jess. Probably never would. Rory had had Jess' daughter. She had carried a piece of Jess inside of her for nine months and for the following four years had had to look at a constant reminder of what had happened to her life. Rory loved Liza more than anything else in the world. But at times Lane could see a flicker of sadness in her eyes when she looked at Liza's chocolate brown eyes that were the carbon copy of Jess' own. 

And ever since she had seen Jess in Star's Hollow, had told him about his daughter things seemed to be worse for Rory. She had been happy before. She had smiled constantly around others, had been the Rory they had all known and loved. It was most likely the fact that Jess had moved on. Had gotten himself another life with another girlfriend that was making Rory like this. It was the fact that what little chance of ever having a family with him had vanished in front of her eyes. 

Rory had told Lane about what had happened on the bridge between them, what had nearly happened. There had been something there, a spark of some sort and then they had nearly kissed. Rory had explained to her that in the moments before Jess pulled away that she had felt that that was the way things were supposed to be. That she and Jess would end up together after all. Then, all hope had been ripped away from her. Jess had a girlfriend and nothing could happen between them. Kate showed up the next day. 

Lorelai had told Rory to wallow. Lane felt that she should as well. Lane and Lorelai remembered Rory's break-up with Dean as clear as day. The difference was that after Rory had pushed Jess out of her life she had just gone on with her life, her pregnancy, college and raising her child. She had never fully grasped the fact of that her and Jess were over. She had been too busy keeping her life together to openly morn. So, all that had been building up over the years was ready to come out with the sudden appearance of her ex-boyfriend and her child's father. 

Lane cursed under her breath. She sounded like a psychiatrist. Of course that was probably her mother's fault, and Dave's as well. Her mother and boyfriend and formed a union to attack Lane on what she would be majoring in college. Her mother had been nagging her to become a doctor and Dave to choose a major. Dave and Mrs. Kim had found common ground on the subject of Lane's future. In the end they both won. Lane decided that she would major in Psychiatry with a minor in music. It was the one aspect of Lane's life that Mama Kim was ecstatic with. 

So, Lane was on her way to becoming a Psychiatrist and sounding more and more like one each day. Analyzing ever detail of her friends' problems in her head. It was good practice for her. She didn't hate it, but she didn't love it. She was just doing to make her mother happy. The band was her life.

Dave entered the room then, a huge smile spread across his face. Lane looked up at her boyfriend, confused. Dave was up to something. She could tell from the sparkle in his eye. She didn't know what it could possibly be, but she had a feeling that she was about to find out. Dave approached her, leaning over and giving her a kiss. 

"What are you up to?" Lane asked. 

"I've been thinking," Dave began, "We've been together for five years now and I've never been happier in my entire life."

"Neither have I," Lane responded. 

"Good, because I have something really important to ask you," Dave announced. He reached into his pocket and Lane held her breath. When Dave's hand reappeared again it held a small velvet box. Lane couldn't breathe or move as Dave slowly opened the box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. Lane sat on the edge of her couch. "Lane Kim, will you marry me?" 

"YES! YES! YES!" Lane shouted, wrapping her arms around Dave and kissing his face all over. 

"Can I put the ring on?" Dave asked. Lane laughed and sat back down, holding her hand out for Dave as he slid the ring on her finger. Lane then immediately threw her arms around him again. Dave laughed, "I love you." 

"I love you too," Lane smiled brightly, and then pulled away from him, "Oh my god! I have to call Rory and my mother and…oh my god! I'm getting married!" 

Dave shook his head and sat back on the floor laughing as his fiancé jumped grabbed the phone and jumped around the apartment purely glowing in happiness. She never looked more beautiful than she did at that very moment, ever ounce of her purely happy. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

__

(Back at Rory's apartment in New Haven.)

The phone rang menacingly as Rory took the oven-baked pizza out of the over. Liza sat coloring on the kitchen table, waiting for her dinner. Rory sighed and slid the hot pizza onto a plate and moved to grab the phone off the counter. "Hello?" 

__

"RORY!" Lane Kim, her best friend, exclaimed excitedly. 

"Lane!" Rory smiled upon hearing Lane's voice, Lane was always able to cheer her up, "What's going on?" 

__

"You'll never believe what Dave just asked me!" Lane's voice was filled with happiness. 

"That Elvis really isn't dead?" Rory tried. 

__

"No," Lane responded, her happiness unfazed, "He asked me to marry him!" 

"Oh my god!" Rory exclaimed, "Congratulations!" 

__

"Thank you!" Lane squealed. Rory wished she could see Lane's face right now. Lane had been waiting for this day since she had Dave had gotten back together after their short break-up and moved into his apartment. Rory was happy for her best friend. 

__

"Oh, god there's so much I have to do," Lane went on, "I mean, I have to call my mom and your mom and Dave and I have to talk about setting a date." 

"Whoa, Lane, you just got engaged!" Rory tried to calm her friend down, "Forget about what you have to do and celebrate! You're getting married!" 

__

"I know!" Lane squealed again, the happiness seeming only to rise in the perky Korean. "I'm getting married!" 

"You should probably go and call Mama Kim to tell her the good news," Rory suggested. 

__

"I don't know how good of news this'll be for her," Lane laughed, "I think she's still holding out that Dave and I break up and I marry a nice Korean boy." 

"She likes Dave," Rory reminded her. 

__

"No, she respects him," Lane corrected Rory. 

"With Mama Kim it's the same thing," Rory sighed, "You better call my mom too. She'll be upset if you don't." 

__

"I know," Lane replied, "Knowing Lorelai she'll probably insist I get to Stars Hallow so she could start on my dress." 

"Momma!" Liza cried from the table, "I'm hungey!" 

"I got to go Lane," Rory sighed, "Liza's hungry and my pizzas going to get cold soon. Congratulations!" 

__

"Bye Rory!" Lane saluted before hanging up. 

Rory turned back to her pizza, cutting the slices and bringing it to the table smiling. Lane, her best friend in the whole world, was going to get married to the love of her life. At least some things were going right in the world.


	11. Drowning Problems

****

Family Portrait

A/N: Alright, this story is really beginning to build up. Just a forewarning for all my Literati fans reading this, something that might happen in this chapter and chapters to come might get you a bit discouraged or upset at me. Don't flame me, just believe that I'm still all for a Lit happy ending. I just need the conflict before that happens. So, keep reading and don't worry too much. 

****

Chapter 11 Drowning Problems.

Paris and Jamie walked into their apartment that night laughing merrily. They had had a fantastic night together and were ready to go to bed. The unusually giddy Paris stopped in her tracks when she saw Rory Gilmore, her roommate and best friend curled up on their couch with a carton of Ice Cream and _A Walk to Remember _playing on television. Paris frowned and slowly approached Rory, Jamie trailing behind her. 

"Rory?" Paris tested. Rory looked up; her blue eyes glistened with tears. "What's wrong now Gilmore?" 

"Lane and Dave are getting married," Rory told her. 

"Shouldn't you be happy?" Paris wondered confused. 

"I was," Rory gulped for breath, "I really, really was. Then when I was putting Liza to sleep I realized that if Lane and Dave could get married then so could Kate and Jess." 

"Gilmore, you really got to let Jess go," Paris sighed, "Look what he's doing to you." 

"He wants to introduce Liza to Kate," Rory informed Paris. 

"She already met her," Paris pointed out. 

"No, as his daughter," Rory explained, "He wants to tell her that he's a father. He loves her." 

"Paris..." Jamie cut in, "I think I'm going to go to sleep." 

"Okay," Paris nodded, taking a seat on the couch next to Rory. She couldn't really understand how Rory was feeling right now. Paris did love Jamie, but he had been her only boyfriend. She had never went through a break up nonetheless one as tough as Rory's.

"Can you maybe watch Liza tomorrow?" Rory asked. Paris nodded silently. "You can go to bed," Rory told her, "I don't need a babysitter." 

"I know," Paris sighed. Rory then turned back to the TV screen and completely blocked Paris out. Paris sat on the couch a few more seconds and watched Rory, she wondered if she and Jamie ever broke up would she be in the same state Rory was now? Paris hoped not. Then again, hopefully, she would never have to find out. 

Paris finally got up and went to bed. She didn't want to sleep alone that night, not after seeing Rory the way she was. Instead she climbed in with Jamie and snuggled close to him. Her first love, and hopefully her only. It had taken Paris long enough to find a guy who took interest in her, she didn't think she could do it again. 

As soon as Paris had gone off to bed Rory turned off the movie and put away the Ice Cream. She couldn't sit on the couch any longer, or even in the apartment. Jamie and Paris were home now, if Liza woke up now they would be there to look after her. She was dressed in her sweat pants and baggy Yale sweatshirt but she didn't care. Slipping on her shoes Rory grabbed Jamie's car keys as she headed out the door. She didn't have a clue as to where she was going. But she had the whole night and following day to figure it out. 

Just driving helped Rory feel a little better. No one could touch her here. There was no phone and no other person to bother her, to dampen her mood even more. She had been ecstatic that Lane and Dave were finally tying the knot. She knew Lane had been planning for this day since she and Dave had started dating. It was just the threat of being alone forever always seemed to float back no matter what great thing was happening in the world. She would never truly be alone, not with Liza in her life. But she wouldn't have Jess. She wouldn't have someone to hold her in the night. She wouldn't have someone to hug her when Liza went off to College and left her mother behind. 

Feeling the tears rise in her eyes again Rory leaned over and turned on the radio, raising the volume to drown out her thoughts. The radio belted songs out at her, some songs that Rory knew and loved and others that she had never heard of. But the music washed over her mind and helped Rory block out her thoughts for the moment. And she drove. The almost empty highways a safe haven for her and the adventure looming ahead of her a comfort. 

She lost track of time soon enough. Sometime along time the road it had become midnight and the radio began playing some horrid disco tunes and Rory had slipped in her stray XTC CD. It was only when she saw the Cheshire Cat Inn that Rory was able to figure out where she was. She also realized then how alike she and her mother really were. They both chose to run away from things. Rory didn't stop though. She couldn't go back to the Inn. She didn't want to pretend anymore. And going back there she could pretend. She could pretend that she had never met Jess and that she was sixteen again on a Road Trip with her mother who had just called off her wedding. But pretending would only make things worse. So she drove. 

Before she knew it she was parked out front of Harvard. Hours since she had left her apartment in New Haven had passed. A sudden rush of sleepiness overwhelmed Rory and she didn't know what to do anymore. She couldn't drive home again. She couldn't find a hotel or an Inn to stay at; she had no money to pay for a room. Exasperated Rory leaned her head against the steering wheel. Trying not to stray back to thoughts of Jess and being alone, trying not to pretend. She was in Boston, it was the middle of the night and she was tired, sad and desperate. 

Pulling herself together Rory pressed on the gas of the car and drove away from what could've been her destiny. What she could've had. She pulled into a twenty four-hour grocery store and searched Jamie's car for change of any sort. She found enough change to afford a chocolate bar. Shutting off the engine Rory entered the grocery store. She stood in the candy aisle and looked over the sweets. Trying to decide which would be best for the moment. She snatched one up and turned quickly to leave, she stopped as she saw the coffee behind her. Grocery store. Coffee. Tristan. Tristan lived in Boston. 

Rory replaced the chocolate bar on the shelf and hurried to the pay phones. It was late. Very late, and until the other day she hadn't seen Tristan in years. But she didn't know what else to do, or who else to call. She dialed 0 to reach the operator. "Operator, how can I help you?" 

"I need the number for someone in the Boston area," Rory said, "The name of Tristan DuGray." 

"DuGray..." the operator repeated, "Hmm...Right, would you like me to connect you?" 

"Yes please," Rory nodded to herself, "Thank you." 

Rory listened to the phone ring. She bit her lip hoping that Tristan would answer. He was her last hope. After four rings someone finally picked up. _"Hello?" _the voice was groggy and sounded as if it had just been woken up. Which it probably had been. 

"Hi, is this Tristan DuGray?" Rory asked, trying best to sound normal. 

__

"Uh-huh," Tristan grunted. Rory thought she could hear a yawn on the other end. 

"Tris, this is Rory Gilmore," Rory informed him, unsure of why she had called him 'Tris'. 

__

"Mary?" Tristan sounded confused, "Why are you calling me so late? Or calling me at all?" 

"I'm kind of in Boston," Rory explained, "And I'm broke."

__

"Where are you?" Tristan wanted to know. 

"At a pay phone in a grocery store," Rory replied. 

__

"I think I know where you are," Tristan told her, "Is there a large rooster out front?" 

"Uh…" Rory leaned over to see out the window, "Yeah." 

__

"I'll be right there to get you," Tristan stated. 

"You don't have to," Rory assured him, "I've got Jamie's car." 

__

"I'm coming, you can get the car tomorrow," Tristan sounded firm, "Just be outside in five minutes." 

"OK," Rory agreed. Then, they hung up and Rory went to wait outside. She forgot about getting a chocolate bar for now. She didn't need one anymore. Tristan's car pulled up five minutes later as promised and Tristan jumped out and rushed over to her. 

"What are you doing here?" he enquired. 

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, she felt more tears coming on. Tristan seemed to see that she was about to cry because he put his arm around her shoulder and led had back to his car. He opened the passenger's door and helped her in before going around and getting in himself. 

"Does this have anything to do with Jess?" Tristan questioned as he turned the car back on. 

"I guess," Rory sighed, "God, I feel like such an idiot."

"Why Boston?" Tristan asked. 

"I didn't mean to come to Boston," Rory admitted, "I just got into the car and drove and the next thing I knew…" she motioned around the car. 

"You're here," Tristan filled in, "And then you called me?" 

"I remembered you lived here," Rory didn't look at him, instead she looked out her window, "I mean so does my dad. But I couldn't call him, not in the middle of the night." 

"And you could call me?" Tristan joked. 

"I had no one else," a tear escaped and rolled freely down Rory's cheek.

"Does anyone know you're here?" Tristan stopped at a red light and looked over to inspect Rory. Rory just shook her head. They drove the rest of the way to Tristan's apartment in silence. 

The next thing she knew Rory was in Tristan's apartment. He had explained on the way up in the elevator that he had no roommates. His father and grandfather had thought it better that Tristan live alone and not be under the influence of another college student day in and day out. They figured that that way he wouldn't get into any trouble. 

Rory wandered around the apartment as Tristan set up his hide-a-bed for Rory. She peeked into Tristan's room, his kitchen, and his fridge and liquor cabinet. She knelt down to have a better look at Tristan's alcohol collection. Wine, beer, vodka, tequila…Rory pushed bottles aside and reached for a small bottle. Quickly and quietly she ripped open the seal and took a swig. She made a face as the liquid went down her throat but as soon as it was gone she took another sip. 

Tristan wandered in looking for her as Rory took her fifth swig from the bottle. He frowned when he saw her, leaning against the counted drinking away. He cleared his throat and Rory looked up at him shrugging innocently at him, "Come on Tris," she patted the floor next to her, "Misery needs company." 

"What happened to you Mar?" Tristan wondered. 

"Got pregnant at eighteen," Rory took another swig from the bottle. 

"You seemed the same at the grocery store in New Haven," Tristan said, grabbing a bottle of beer. 

"Yeah, well then I didn't expect to run into the father of my child with a girlfriend that he loved," Rory reminded Tristan, "Did you know that he wants to tell Kate that he's got a daughter." 

"Kate?" Tristan implored. 

"The girlfriend," Rory informed him, "Lane and Dave are getting married." 

"That's good." 

"Yeah," Rory nodded, looking over her now empty bottle, "But Jess and Kate could get married." 

Tristan grabbed Rory's arm as she reached for the larger bottle of tequila. Rory rolled her eyes and pulled her arm away, grabbing the bottle and settling back against the counter. "Sure that you should be drinking now?" Tristan asked. 

"Who are you Tristan DuGray?" Rory slurred, obviously not able to hold her alcohol very well at all, "The Tristan I used to know would've loved to get me drunk." 

"And the Mary I knew wouldn't be caught dead in my kitchen with a bottle of tequila in her hands," Tristan shot back. 

"Man, military school took all the fun out of you," Rory sighed, taking a large gulp of vodka, "Lighten up Tris." 

"I don't think I should," Tristan put his bottle of beer down. Rory rolled her eyes again and reached for the third and last bottle of tequila and shoved it into Tristan's hands. 

"Come on!" Rory encouraged, "I mean, there's got to be something for you to drink about!" 

Tristan stared at the bottle a few seconds before ripping it open and taking a large gulp, "I know I'm going to regret this." 

"That's the spirit!" Rory laughed, "Forget now, Regret later!" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~

__

(The next morning.)

Rory groaned. She felt like she had been hit in the head by a ten-pound brick over and over again. Unfamiliar smells filled her nostrils and Rory opened her eyes, she immediately closed them again. Apparently the bright light only made things worse for her headache. She rolled over onto her back and felt something cold pressing against her arm. Slowly she sat up and picked up the object. She opened her eyes slowly, her head was spinning and she tried to focus on what the object was. A bottle, an empty bottle, of tequila, that would explain her headache. 

She looked around the room. Clothes, that were certainly not she own, were scattered around the unfamiliar room. Rory tried to remember what had happened, where she was. She remembered Paris and Jamie coming home from their date, she remembered getting into her car and driving, a grocery store, Tristan. Tristan, she was at his apartment. She remembered then. She had called Tristan and he had come to get her. But that was all she remembered. Everything else was just a blur. All she knew was that she was naked in someone else's bed. 

Just then something next to her began to stir. Rory, startled, jumped out of bed, holding a blanket tightly against her. A head popped up from under a sheet, a head that Rory recognized very well as Tristan DuGray. "Oh, shit!" Rory cursed. Startled Tristan jumped out of the bed as well, but not remembering to take a sheet with him. Rory turned around immediately before she could see too much. 

"Sorry," Tristan mumbled, grabbing a sheet off the bed. 

"What's going on?" Rory shouted. Wincing as she immediately regretted speaking too loud. 

"Keep it down," Tristan advised, "It's hard enough to think as it is." 

"What happened?" Rory asked.

"Think I remember?" Tristan wondered, "All I know is that this is your fault!" 

"Mine?" Rory questioned, "How is this my fault? I can't remember anything!" 

"Well the last thing I remember is you saying 'Forget now, Regret later' as you convinced me to drink the night away with you." 

"This is not happening!" Rory tried to convince herself, "This is not happening!" 

"Guess I can't call you Mary anymore," Tristan smirked. And Rory glared at him. 

"This isn't funny!" she insisted, "We just..." 

"Had sex?" Tristan offered. 

"Exactly," Rory nodded, "We shouldn't have..." 

"We didn't know better," Tristan pointed out, "Look around Ror." And Rory did. There was more than just one bottle of tequila, but three of numerous sizes, two bottles of vodka and one wine bottle. 

"Did you remember to use a...?" Rory asked. 

"I can't remember much right now," Tristan reminded her. 

"Oh god," Rory fell to the ground, tears falling once again, "I can't handle this…I can't…" 

"Rory," Tristan had made his way around the bed, his arms were around her and he had drawn her in for a half-hug, "This wasn't your fault…" 

"Yes, it was," Rory cried, "If I had just told Jess when I found out I was pregnant none of this would be happening. Things would be different." 

"You thought you were doing what was best," Tristan tried to calm her. 

"How do you know?" Rory snapped, "Where were you when all this was happening to me? You had been shipped off to military school for two years then! You haven't the slightest clue what I was thinking!" 

"Ror..." Tristan's voice was strained as he tried to remain calm. He had too, for Rory's sake. If he flipped out about all of this, things could only get worse. 

"I think I'm going to be sick," Rory announced, she was looking at Tristan now, her once child-like bright blue eyes were dark and grief stricken, her beautiful face was stained with tears. Tristan nodded and helped her to her feet, slowly leading her to the washroom, his own hangover forgotten for the moment. 

They made it to the bathroom and Rory threw up, more than once. At one point Tristan got up and grabbed a face-cloth, soaking it was warm water and then as he held Rory's hair back he pressed the cloth against the back of her neck. Rory flushed and closed the lid of the toilette, and took the face cloth from Tristan. As she cleaned up Tristan left her for a moment. 

He came back with Rory's clothes, her sweatpants, sweatshirt, bra and underwear. Rory smiled warily at him, her lips still quivering. Tristan left once more to allow her to change and to get his own clothes. When he returned Rory was leaning over the toilette again, another bout of morning-after sickness. Tristan rushed to her side and held her hair back, rubbing her back. When she finished, he grabbed another warm face cloth and handed it to her. 

"God, I haven't been this sick since I was pregnant with Liza," Rory sighed. 

"And I'm guessing you never got drunk before either," Tristan put in. 

"No," Rory admitted, "I never really drank wine before up until a few nights ago at my grandparent's."

They sat in the bathroom in silence. Rory leaning back against the wall beside the toilette and Tristan in front of her. Neither of them was willing to really approach the subject of what they were going to do now, or what had happened last night. Tristan ran his hands through his blonde hair and then rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble of his beard growing back. "What now?" Rory finally asked, she sounded like a scared little kid then. 

"I don't know," Tristan replied, "I don't know." 

"Tristan, what happened last night..." Rory began. 

"Was a mistake," Tristan finished, "I know. We were both drunk and we all know what alcohol does." 

"Right," Rory nodded, "But we still have to figure this out. I mean what if..."

"Let's not think about that now," Tristan interrupted, and for the first time Rory realized how much Tristan had really changed since she had last seen him. His hair was longer, sure, but she saw a bigger difference than just appearance. It was his attitude, his demeanor. The twinkle of mischief was still there, but there was so much more besides that. She knew that she could never fall madly in love with Tristan, she knew that she loved Jess more than anyone could ever comprehend. But then she knew just how much of a friend she had found in Tristan DuGray. 

"I don't know what to do," Rory cried and she hated herself just then for crying. It was all she seemed able to do since Jess had pulled away moment before they kissed to tell her he had a girlfriend. Tristan's hand was on her shoulder now. 

"We'll figure something out," he assured her. Rory closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. She nodded slowly and stood up. 

"Do you have an Aleve or something?" she requested. Tristan nodded and opened the medicine cabinet, taking a pill himself before handing the bottle to Rory. "Can I ask you a question?" 

"Sure," Tristan nodded. 

"How come you had so much tequila?" Rory asked. 

"Just so I know it's there," Tristan shrugged, "I got into some trouble a couple of years ago that I'd rather not talk about." 

"Ok," Rory nodded. They were in the kitchen now, Tristan opening and closing cupboards looking for something. Awkwardly Rory sat down at the table and watched him. She glanced at the digital clock on the stove, it read 12:00. "I think I better call Paris..." Rory informed Tristan, "Just check in and make sure everything's ok." 

"Phone's in the other room," Tristan told her, taking down a box from on of the cupboards. Rory nodded and headed into the other room, where the hide-a-bed was set up. She caught sight of the phone on an end table beside the bed. 

She dialed the number for her and Paris' apartment. She listened to the slow insistent ringing wishing that Paris or somebody would just pick up. Finally, Paris' irritated voice replaced the ring, _"What?"_

"It's customary to say 'hello' when answering a phone," Rory couldn't help but laugh. 

__

"Gilmore, where are you!" Paris snapped, "Liza wakes up crying in the middle of the night waking me up and you're not home!" 

"I went for a drive," Rory explained.

__

"And you couldn't have left a note letting us know this?" Paris exclaimed. 

"I didn't even take money," Rory sighed, "How's everything?"

__

"How's everything?" Paris shouted, "We're stuck in this apartment because you took the car, Liza's driving me crazy and no one knows where you are!" 

"Look, I'm sorry," Rory sighed, "I'll be back as soon as I can." 

__

"Gilmore..." Paris started to say something but stopped, "Call Lorelai. I called her looking for you and she's worried." 

"Ok," Rory sighed, "Bye." After she hung up with Paris she picked up the phone and dialed her mother's number. 

__

"Hello you've reached Lorelai and Luke's house of Love," the answering machine recited Lorelai's outgoing message. 

"Lorelai!" Luke's voice shouted in the background. 

"We're not home right now or we doing the naughty..." 

"Lorelai!" Luke shouted again, his voice closer. 

"Don't mind Luke, he's just cranky because we're not in the bedroom right now…"

"Lorelai!" Luke voice was now clear, "Would you…" the message cut off then by a loud, obnoxious beep and Rory hung up without leaving a message and dialed the diner instead. It was lunch and she knew her mother never missed out a chance at torturing her beloved husband. 

__

"Hello?" a voice that belonged neither to Luke or Lorelai picked up. Rory tensed up, it was Jess. _"Hello?" _

"Jess..." Rory finally managed. 

__

"Rory..." Jess returned. 

"Is my mom there?" Rory asked. Then there was a commotion in the background and Lorelai's chirpy voice sounded on the telephone. 

__

"Rory, my darling daughter, the love of my life!" Lorelai exclaimed, "Can you please tell me why Paris called me this morning demanding to know why you weren't there." 

"I went for a drive," Rory told her. 

__

"An all night drive?" Lorelai wondered, "Where?" 

"Boston," Rory mumbled, waiting to here the irony in her mother's voice. 

__

"Boston?" Lorelai repeated, "Why?" 

"I don't know, I just got in the car and drove," Rory replied. 

__

"Without a map?" Lorelai sounded appalled.

"Without any money either," Rory added, "I did have a good CD though."

__

"Well, at least you learned something from our last Road Trip," Lorelai sounded as if she had no idea what to say. 

"I learnt something on this one too," Rory wanted to tell her mother everything, she really did. But here she was standing in Tristan's apartment while her mother was miles away at Luke's totally oblivious to anything that had happed with her the night before with none other than Jess likely standing a few feet away serving customers. 

__

"And what might that be?" Lorelai asked, curiosity evident in her tone. 

"That I really need to carry a purse," Rory replied. It was true. If Rory had taken a purse with her wallet she wouldn't have had to worry about where to stay. She would've booked a room at a hotel and never have called Tristan and ended up in his apartment talking to her mother in the middle of the day. 

__

"Where did you stay?" Lorelai wondered. 

"A friend's house," Rory answered. 

__

"You have friends in Boston?" Lorelai sounded confused now. 

"Just one," Rory confirmed. 

__

"Does this friend have a name?" Lorelai wanted to know. 

"Tristan." 

__

"What?" Lorelai shouted, more surprised than angry, "Bible boy? You're at Bible boy's?" 

"Yes," Rory acknowledged, "Look, I'll stop by on my way home and tell you everything." 

__

"You better!" Lorelai stated. 

Rory hung up the phone and contemplated leaving the apartment right then without saying anything. But she remembered that her car was parked at a grocery store that she had no idea how to get back to. Sighing Rory headed back into the kitchen. The luscious scent of pancakes filled the air and Rory grinned. She was starving. "I didn't know you could cook." 

"I could do a lot more than that," Tristan winked and Rory rolled her eyes. At least things seemed normal enough now. Tristan placed a tall plate of blueberry pancakes at the center of the table and handed Rory a plate and a utensils

Rory helped herself to a pancake as Tristan retrieved chocolate sauce, whipped cream and maple syrup from the fridge. As soon as he placed them on the table Rory scooped up the whip cream and the chocolate sauce and began dressing her pancake. "If I knew you were a whip cream girl I'd have gotten that out earlier," Tristan joked. 

"I'm starting to hate you again," Rory told him. 

"I never knew you liked me," Tristan smirked, "Then again I'm not to surprised, not after you jumped me last night." 

"You don't even know what happened," Rory pointed out. 

"I don't," Tristan admitted, "But I'm betting you jumped me."

"Get over yourself," Rory advised, "Remember why I was here in the first place." They dug into their pancakes, savoring every bite. 

Once they were done Tristan gathered up the empty plates and set them down in the sink. Rory watched his every move. From the colossal mistake of the previous night Rory had gained a friend. She had a feeling that if she hadn't drove all the way to Boston last night, yesterday morning likely would've been the last time Rory saw Tristan for a while. Rory knew that this was just the beginning. There was a whole string of problems waiting for her down the road. But maybe, just maybe, friends like Tristan, Paris, Lane, Dave and Jamie could help save her in the end. 

It was going to be a bumpy ride, she just hoped that she could hold on. 


	12. History Repeats Itself

****

Family Portrait

A/N: Wow. Well, I'm glad that my readers seem to trust my judgement. I'm really sorry that I haven't been writing for 'Tale Untold' but I've just got so many ideas for this story and I'm having a lot of trouble coming up with the next chapter. I've started on it so don't worry. Anyway, as I mentioned I have a lot of ideas for this story so I'll likely be working on this one a lot more now. So, I'm going to get on with the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as much as you've enjoyed the others. Review and tell me what you think. 

****

Chapter 12 History Repeats Itself

Rory paced back and forth through the Gilmore-Danes home. An ominous silence had fallen upon the house since Rory had arrived there nearly and hour ago. Lorelai sat on the couch in her maternity nightgown watching her daughter wear a groove into the floor as they waited news of what the future held for the Gilmore clan. 

"Is it time yet?" Rory asked. 

"Not yet," Lorelai replied wearily, wishing to be back in bed with Luke. Lane and Paris sat drowsily beside Lorelai, they too looked as if they wished to be elsewhere but Rory needed their support. Luke's peaceful snores drifted down to them and Lorelai half-wished she had woken him up after all. 

The past month had been hard for her daughter. Rory had had a hard time dealing with Jess coming home and trying to be a father to his daughter and then there was the whole Tristan ordeal. Which led to this. Them sitting in the living room at two in the morning awaiting the timer in the kitchen to ring and tell them what happened next.

Thankfully Lucas was asleep and Liza had dozed off a little while ago. But Lorelai was beginning to grow antsy sitting and waiting for her daughter's future to be decided once more by a small plastic stick. Running her hands over the growing lump of her stomach she wondered how they had ended up here. How her getting pregnant at sixteen had automatically set off a chain of events that led to Rory making the same mistake she had, twice. 

The timer rang a short ding that echoed through the quiet house. Paris and Lane were immediately on their feet, wide-awake again, Rory had stopped in her tracks and was staring into the kitchen were the answer awaited them and Lorelai sighed and slowly pulled herself off the couch. "Here we go," she said, more to herself than anyone else in the room. 

Rory glanced at Lorelai before taking her first step toward the kitchen, the three other women right behind her. Finally, they all stood together in front of the kitchen table staring over at the pregnancy test at the other end. "Can you read it from here?" Lane wondered. 

"No," Rory shook her head, wringing her hands together nervously. 

"Someone should go over there and read it," Paris suggested. 

"Rory..." Lorelai let her voice trail off. 

"I can't do it," Rory announced, stepping back, "Someone else do it." 

"I'll do it," Lane decided, "I brought the news to you the first time around, might as well be me again." 

"Ok," Rory nodded, her hand going instinctively to her stomach, as if somehow she would be able to feel whether there was a baby growing there now or not.

Lane approached the pregnancy test cautiously as every one else followed her movements with their eyes, trying to read her expression. But Lane showed no emotion, she kept her expression neutral and the tension seemed to rise in the room. Slowly, Lane picked the test up holding it carefully as if it might break.

"What does it say?" Rory's voice quavered. She was afraid. Afraid of what all of this might mean, afraid that her dreams might once more be crushed because of something stupid she had done. 

"It says..." Lane paused a second, reading the test, doubling checking with the box to be absolutely sure that she wasn't reading it wrong. 

"Get on with it!" Paris snapped, tired and impatient. She hadn't gotten any sleep at all that night, not with what Rory had told her hours earlier. That a month ago, the night she disappeared, she had gone over to Tristan DuGray's apartment, gotten drunk and woken up the next morning naked in his bed.

"Rory you're..." Lane began to say again, but this time was cut off by a new voice. 

"What's going on?" Rory, Paris and Lorelai all turned, surprised to see that Luke's snoring had stopped and that Luke was standing at the bottom of the steps in his boxers and a T-shirt holding a sniffling Lucas. 

"Hold on a second," Lorelai told her husband before turning back to Lane, "Tell us." Rory's shaking hand reached out and grasped her mother's as Lane opened her mouth to speak once more. 

"You're having a baby, again," Lane informed Rory sympathetically. 

"Oh, god," Rory choked, letting go of her mother's hand as she sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands. 

"What? Rory's pregnant?" Luke demanded to know. He put Lucas down on the floor next to the couch where Liza lay sleeping as he rushed to join the group in the kitchen. 

"Rory's pregnant," Lorelai confirmed, reaching for her husband's hand. 

"Who?" Luke asked. 

"Tristan," Rory managed in between sobs. 

"That guy you went to Chilton with?" Luke wondered, looking accusingly at Lorelai as if all his had happened because she had come up with a plan to get Rory and Jess together. Lorelai gave him a look that told him 'We'll talk later' and Luke let it pass. 

"What are you going to do?" Lane asked she was on her knees now, her arms wrapped around her best friend. 

"I don't know," Rory mumbled, "I don't know." 

"You've got to call Tristan," Paris stated, she was still standing awkwardly beside Rory unsure of what she should say or do. 

"I know," Rory nodded, "But I can't exactly tell him on the phone." 

"Are you going to go to Boston and tell him this weekend?" Lane questioned. 

"You can't this weekend!" Lorelai jumped in before Rory could answer, "It's the dance marathon and you have to beat Kirk for me!" 

"Lorelai..." Luke started in his lecture tone. 

"That's it!" Lane exclaimed, "Rory, you invite Tristan to the Dance Marathon and tell him then." 

"I have to go for a walk," Rory stated, getting to her feet. 

"You want someone to go with you?" Paris asked. Rory shook her head and headed out the door. 

"I need to be alone," she told them as she shut the door behind her. The group fell silent looking at each other and then over at the pregnancy test. History was repeating it self once more for the Gilmores and their friends and there was nothing they could do about it. 

Rory walked the streets of Stars Hollow, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Who knew that peeing on a stick could bring such dreadful news. Slowly Rory dialed the numbers that had become so familiar to her in the past month and then pressed the phone against her ear and listened to the slow ringing. 

__

"Hello?" Tristan answered his voice was slow and tired. 

"Tristan," Rory said simply.

__

"You're calling in the middle of the night Mary," Tristan sighed, "This can't be good." 

"Sorry it's so late," Rory apologized, trying to force her voice to sound perfectly fine, "But I couldn't sleep." 

__

"Well how thoughtful of you to disturb my sleep on your behalf," Tristan snorted. Rory knew that Tristan wasn't upset, just tired and being Tristan.

"Look, there's this thing happening in Stars Hollow this weekend," Rory began, "It's this annual twenty-four hour dance marathon that my mom wants me to enter. I was wondering if you'd maybe be my dance partner." 

__

"When do I have to be there?" Tristan wondered, not bothering to argue the matter. 

"Anytime before Saturday at four in the morning would be fine," Rory chirped forcing herself to sound chipper even if she didn't feel chipper at all. More like scared and...She didn't exactly know how to describe how she felt right now. 

__

"Four in the morning?" that seemed to wake Tristan up, "Are the people there nuts?" 

"What do you think?" Rory asked, "Oh, and you have to dress up in clothes from the nineteen-fifties, but I'm sure my mom has something lying around from the past marathons." 

__

"Alright," Tristan relented, obviously too tired to argue with her, "Goodnight Rory." 

"Night," Rory clicked off the cell phone and slipped it back in her pocket as she looked around where she was. Shivers rolled down her spine when she realized that she was at the bridge. This was her and Jess' place. Where they had spent all of their time together. Where Jess had taken her on their first date, where she had sent Jess out of her live four years ago and where she had told Jess all about Liza. 

Rory took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge, moving towards the spot where she had sat with Jess only a month ago on the night where her whole universe went spinning out of control again after four years. She sat down and dangled her feet over the edge of the bridge, gazing out and the still water that reflected the sparkling light of the full moon. "You're up late," the voice startled Rory and at the same time sent more shivers down her spine. 

"So are you," it took her a while to answer, the words not forming fast enough in her brain. 

"Well, when you work at a night club you're usually up late," Jess informed her, taking a seat next to her. 

"You work at a night club?" Rory asked, surprised. 

"Yeah, kind of helps me pay for my tuition," Jess replied, "And being able to serve alcohol and listen to some great bands are just perks." 

"When are you going back to New York?" Rory wanted to know, all she knew was that he was here to help Lorelai and Luke for a while, that was all anyone knew. 

"I don't know," Jess shrugged. Rory glanced at him a second. His hair was longer than it had been a month ago, curling over his ear and his brown eyes seemed to be more grown up. More mature. He had been spending a lot of time with Liza lately. He would spend a whole day with Liza on the weekends they came down to Stars Hollow. Kate too had spent time with her as well. Jess had told Kate the whole story and she was surprisingly very supportive of the whole thing. She was back in New York now, had left the two weeks ago after her prolonged stay. 

"Have you talked to Kate lately?" Rory wanted to know. She really did like Kate. The two had spent an hour together one-day while Jess was working at the diner. Rory had learnt that Kate wanted to become a professional photographer, had always hoped to be. They had even joked around about them being partners after they graduated and found jobs, Rory writing the story and Kate photographing it. But Rory still envied the girl, a part of her still hated Kate for being in Jess' life. 

"She's coming this weekend," Jess announced, "She overheard Lorelai and Luke arguing about the Dance Marathon. She's been trying to convince me to enter." 

"You?" Rory stifled a laugh, for the moment forgetting her problem. 

"Yeah," Jess nodded, not finding it funny at all. 

"Mom's forcing me to enter," Rory told him, "Luke's not letting her so I've got to beat Kirk for her." 

"That's Lorelai," Jess shrugged. 

"Yeah," Rory nodded. 

"Who's your date?" Jess inquired. 

"An old friend," Rory told him, "His name's Tristan." At the mention of Tristan Rory's mind floated back to her problem. She was pregnant again and this weekend she would have to tell Tristan that he was going to be a father and hope that he wouldn't flip out. 

"Ror?" Jess' eyebrows furrowed and Rory realized that a stray tear had escaped. 

"I'm pregnant," Rory informed him. 

"Huh." 

"Is that all you can say?" Rory's bottom lip quivered as he voice rose slightly, "Huh." 

"What do you want me to say?" Jess demanded, "How nice? Congratulations?" 

"Anything!" Rory exclaimed, "Say anything as long as it's a word." 

"Does the father know?" Jess asked. 

"It's not exactly something you tell someone over the phone," Rory retorted.

"Are you going to tell him?" Jess wondered. 

"Yes," Rory replied, "Yes I'm going to tell him Jess because he deserves to know. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. I'm not going to hide this from him and shut him out of my life and this child's life because last time I did that I lost the most important thing in my life. You happy?" 

"Ecstatic," Jess drawled. 

"Good," Rory cried, getting up, "Because you know what? I'm not!" 

"Well that's your own fault isn't it?" Jess spat, "Cause if I remember correctly you were the one who made me leave, you were the one who broke up and _you_ were the one who neglected to tell me you were pregnant with my daughter. So you know what? Too damn bad if I don't feel sorry for you right now Rory because this is your own fault." 

"No Jess, this is your fault," Rory argued, "Because if I you hadn't made me love you as much as I do I wouldn't have gotten drunk and this wouldn't be happening." 

"This is not my fault," Jess told her, his voice loud and he spoke each word slowly, "Because you had a choice Rory. You had the choice in all of this and you chose this. I had no choice." 

Jess stormed off, anger resonating in ever footstep he took and Rory watched him go. Anger and hatred flowed through her body, sadness overwhelmed her and the tears flowed again. Jess was right. This wasn't his fault; none of this was his fault. She had started this all, she had chosen all of this and now there was no turning back. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

__

(In the apartment above the diner.)

Jess stared blankly at the words on the pages of a book he was reading. His hair was damp from having taken a cold shower the minute he had returned from the bridge, he wore his old sweatpants and a plain T-shirt, laying back on his bed and just staring ahead of him. He didn't know what else to do. 

He was a nighthawk, always had been. Jess had rarely ever slept, especially since he moved back to New York. He had a job and school, there was hardly anytime to sleep and when he did sleep he would sleep for long hours at a time. Stars Hollow was different from New York though. In Stars Hollow there were no clubs or bars Jess could escape to in the middle of the night, so on his nights of insomnia he would go to the bridge. He would go to their spot and just sit there for hours looking out at the Lake and remembering what he had tried to forget over four years, Rory Gilmore. 

That night though he had not been alone, he had arrived on the bridge only to find Rory Gilmore sitting there staring out at the River. He couldn't see her face, he couldn't read what she might've been thinking sitting there in the dark under the full moon. They had maintained what could be considered civil conversation for about two minutes before he had seen a single tear slide down he delicate cheek. Then, she had dropped the bomb that still had him in a daze. She was pregnant. They had fought after that and Jess had stormed off. Now, he was processing what she had told him. 

Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was pregnant again and this time it was not his kid. This time Rory had been with someone else had someone else's kid growing inside of her. Jess wondered what this would mean, how this would affect the relationship with Liza he was trying to form. This man, the father of Rory's unborn child would become a father to both his own kid and Jess' kid. 

Jess recalled Rory's words from earlier, telling him that she was going to tell the father of her baby. He envied the man. Envied that he would get to be there, that he wouldn't end up the bad guy in the eyes of everyone else. That he would get the choice of whether to stand by Rory or not. Jess had had no such choice, the choice had been made for him and now he was paying for the time he had been forced to miss. He was awkwardly pushing himself into a role that he didn't know how to take the role of a father. 

He had never had a father. Jimmy had split not long after Jess was born, leaving Liz to fend for herself and raise Jess. Jess didn't know how a father was supposed to act. The fathers of his friends back in New York had been either drunks, druggies or abusive, Jess had never been around a real father, a father who cared about his children. So this whole thing was new to Jess. He found himself loving a four-year-old girl he knew nothing about, a four-year-old girl, who happened to be his daughter, had been created by himself and Rory. 

Liza, he thought of her then and all the time he had been able to spend with her trying to fit into the role he had been shoved into. She had Rory's eyes, twinkling with mischief and sprinkles of his own brown and his unruly dark hair. She was a mixture of the best of both of them, as cheesy as that sounded to Jess it was true. He had watched her from the day he had first met her, had seen Liza act and talk and he could tell. She had so much of both of them in her. Being a father hadn't seemed to fit Jess at first, but just seeing Liza, hearing her ask all her questions it just made Jess _want _to be able to be her father as best her could. 

Did he love Rory? It was a question he had seriously been contemplating since Liza had asked him while watching their home videos. He had once, he was sure of that but until just a while ago he though he didn't love her anymore. He love Kate, that was a given. Kate was unlike all the other girls Jess had dated apart from Rory, and she was so much different than Rory although the two did share similar qualities. Kate was wild and daring and at the same time knew when to be calm and cautious. She was wonderful in every way and was more than supportive about Jess being a father. But when Rory had told him that she was pregnant he knew the answer to the big question. Did he love Rory? 

Yes. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

__

(At the Gilmore-Danes house.)

Rory tried as quietly as she could to re-enter the house nearly a half-hour later. She was still angry and upset about the confrontation with Jess before but she hoped that the others had gone to sleep or just didn't hear her come in because she didn't feel like talking to them about it right now, about any of it. Rory didn't want to discuss the pregnancy, or Jess or what she was going to tell Tristan and when. Right now she wanted to go to sleep and forget any of this was happening for about as long as she could. 

But there would be no such luck for her. Lane Kim, her best friend since kindergarten sat in the kitchen with two cups of steaming coffee waiting on the table. Rory looked around for the others but Luke, Lorelai and Paris were no where in sight. She smiled a little. Maybe she could stand talking about all of this, if it was only Lane. 

"You alright?" Lane asked, as Rory stepped into the bright kitchen. Rory's eyes were still puffy from crying and she shook her head. 

"Not so much," Rory responded, "I'm doing everything backwards." 

"You didn't mean for it to happen," Lane reminded her. Lane had been visiting Rory that night. She had a few nights off from school and band and had come to stay with Rory and Paris and discuss the wedding. Rory had told them the whole story together only two hours before they had picked up a pregnancy test and drove to Stars Hollow. 

"I know," Rory sighed, "Where's everyone else?" 

"I sent them to bed," Lane replied, "Luke convinced Lorelai to go back up with him and I told Paris that it'd be better if I was the one awake when you came home instead of her. Considering she's not very pleasant when she's tired." 

"You should've gone to sleep too," Rory sat down and took a sip of the coffee. 

"I know," Lane shrugged, "Just figured you might need some coffee." 

"Thanks," Rory managed a small smile, "But I'm not sure if I should drink it." 

"It's decaf," Lane informed Rory, "Luke doesn't have any of the real stuff in here cause of Lorelai remember?" 

"Right," Rory managed a small laugh, "I ran into Jess." 

"Oh." 

"Yeah, I ended up telling him," Rory stared into the blackness of the coffee cup, "And we fought." 

"What are you going to do about Tristan?" Lane changed the subject, seeing the familiar flicker of sadness in Rory's eye. The subject change wasn't much better, Lane knew but it was the best she could come up with that would help Rory with her situation. 

"I called him right after I left," Rory told Lane, "I invited him to the Dance Marathon Saturday. I'll tell him then." 

"If you need any help, you know I'm here right?" Lane questioned, examining Rory carefully. So much had changed in the past four years. Rory was going to be a single mother for the second time and Lane was getting married to Dave. 

"I know," Rory nodded. There was a pause before Rory spoke again, "Why does this keep happening to me?" 

"What?" Lane frowned, confused. 

"I've had sex twice and I've gotten pregnant both times," Rory explained, "But you, my mom, Paris you've done it more than me and you haven't gotten pregnant. Why me? Does the world just hate me?" 

"Rory..." Lane trailed, she didn't know what to say. 

"Lane, this isn't supposed to happen twice," Rory shivered, "You're not supposed to get pregnant every time you have sex." 

"Rory you were drunk and you don't know if he used protection or not," Lane pointed out, "And with Jess it was just a fluke." 

"I can't do this again Lane, I can't raise another kid alone," Rory cried, she felt herself breaking down again. 

"You won't be alone," Lane assured her, "Tristan will be there and I will and Paris, Dave, Jamie Luke and Lorelai will all be there too. There's no way you'll be doing this alone."

Lane's words comforted Rory slightly. Maybe she wouldn't be alone after all, not really at least. Tomorrow Tristan was going to come down to Stars Hollow and on Saturday she would go to the Dance Marathon with him and try and find a way to tell him that she was pregnant. 

She only hoped that Tristan was as good a person as she thought he was. 


	13. The Longest Day: Part 1

Family Portrait

A/N: At the beginning of the story I never would have guessed that any of this would've happened, but it has. I'm really devoted to finishing his story off but I have no idea how long it is going to be. I know you guys have waited a long time and I'm sorry, I hope this is as good as the rest has been, if not better, and I hope it's all you built it up to be. I promise I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP. In the meantime, please read and review!

Chapter 13 **The Longest Day: Part 1**

Rory glanced nervously at Tristan as they stood in the line waiting to sign-in to the dance marathon. She was wide awake, having been up all night contemplating how she was supposed to tell Tristan he was about to become the father of her baby. Next to her Tristan's eyes drooped with sleepiness and his blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. He had arrived in Stars Hollow Friday afternoon and had stayed at the Inn; Rory had woken him up less than a half-hour earlier. 

They stepped up to the table where Babette was sitting with the paper they were supposed to sign with. Stars Hollow High loomed ahead, a monument of Rory's past. Babette grinned up at the couple; they had been getting that a lot since they had showed up together that morning. The town saw this as a sign that Rory was finally over Luke's hooligan nephew from New York. "Morning sugar," Babette greeted, "You look wonderful".

"Thanks," Rory smiled and leaned over to sign her and Tristan in.

"Okay you two, go and get you physicals," Babette told them, "And then take your release forms in to get your numbers."

"Alright," Rory nodded and dragged Tristan away down the sidewalk.

"This better be good," Tristan grumbled sleepily.

"It will be," Rory assured him, "Andrew and his date will get into a fight fifteen minutes in. Taylor will get drunk at hour fifteen and talk about how he always wanted to be a magician. And if Kirk wins, my mother will kill us as he does his victory lap to the Rocky theme."

"Any chance I can sneak any of that stuff Taylor will be drinking?" Tristan asked.

"Not a chance," Rory shook her head. She spotted Lane and Dave then, heading towards them; their numbers already pinned on. Lane noticed them too and raced over.

"Hey!" she greeted, too perky for that early in the morning.

"Hi," Rory nodded, "You two get your physical yet?"

"Yeah," Lane nodded, "We're going to go see if we can grab a spot on the floor and maybe find Paris and Jamie. They were ahead of us when we got here."

"Just like Paris," Rory shrugged, "Always has to be the first to everything." Lane waved and ran off to join Dave. Rory watched them go, they were really going to last forever. That much Rory knew. Their love was the only thing that in the universe that didn't seem in ruins.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Tristan mentioned to her after they finished their physicals. Rory looked him over and grinned. Her mom had fixed up the clothes she had made Luke last year after convincing him to be her dance partner. They had lost, of course, Luke having let go of Lorelai's hand after Kirk had provoked him.

"It'll be fun," Rory assured him, dragging Tristan over to the coffee stand Luke was setting up. "Hey Luke, Mom said you had coffee for us."

"Here," Luke grudgingly handed Rory the thermos of coffee, knowing better than to deprive her of coffee that morning.

"Thank you," Rory chirped as she and Tristan headed off towards the stands.

Jess sullenly followed Kate onto the dance floor. As usual she carried her camera with her but Jess was certain that she would put it away within an hour of starting the marathon. He didn't know how she had convinced him to come here, and participate on top of that. She wore a dress she had found at a thrift shop in New York, it was a pale blue and ended just above her knees.

Looking around Jess spotted Lane and Dave chatting with Paris and her boyfriend Jamie, past them on the stands was Rory in a pink poodle skirt and white blouse beside her was her date, a blonde man, Tristan, he remembered. They were drinking coffee from a thermos that Jess guessed Luke had given them.

The music already hummed lightly and Jess noticed other townies joining them on the dance floor. Some gave him odd looks; other just ignored him completely. Jess didn't care. He didn't like them either. They were nuts as far as he was concerned. "Jess?" he heard Kate call him, and Jess turned to her.

"Huh?" Jess asked.

"You okay with doing this?" she wondered, "I know you're not much of a joiner."

"It's fine," Jess shrugged.

"I'm going to go snap some shots before this starts," Kate informed him. Jess nodded and watched Kate walk off, snapping a photo every once and a while. She wouldn't ask people to pose for her, Kate preferred to capture real life than just people putting on faces.

Jess watched Kate for a while before he headed over to see Luke at his coffee stand. Luke looked up and nodded hello to Jess. "The town's crazy," Luke grumbled.

"Just noticing now?" Jess inquired.

"Lorelai should be here later," Luke said, "With Lucas. And Liza." Jess nodded, he figured as much.

"I'm dancing," Jess told his uncle.

"What?" that seemed to surprise Luke. Jess hadn't told anyone but Rory that he and Kate were entering.

"Kate's making me," he shrugged.

"Huh," Luke grunted.

"Yeah..." Jess looked out into the crowd, he looked over to Rory, "He the father?"

"You know?" Luke furrowed his eyebrows, more surprised by this than by the fact that Jess had entered the marathon.

"Yeah," Jess nodded, "She told me."

"He is," Luke confirmed, "Jess..."

"I'm not going to do anything," Jess cut off.

"Good," Luke cleared his throat and looked at his nephew. Even after four years, their communication skills had not improved.

"ALL DANCERS REPORT TO THE DANCE FLOOR," Taylor's voice boomed on the microphone, "_FIVE MINUTES UNTIL THE START OF THE MARATHON."_

"I better go find Kate," Jess announced and nodded his goodbye to Luke.

Rory and Tristan joined Lane, Dave, Paris and Jamie on the dance floor just as Taylor began to make the announcement about all the rules and regulations of the dance marathon. Tristan looks over at Rory in disbelief as Taylor blew the air horn.

When Taylor was done Rory left Tristan to return to the coffee and wandered over to where she had spotted Sookie and Jackson on the dance floor. The couple saw Rory approaching and Sookie broke away from her husband. "Hey!" she greeted, "Lorelai called me and told me everything."

"I figured she would," Rory shrugged, "How you guys doing?"

"Fine, fine," Sookie waved her hands about, "So, which one is he?"

"Which one is who?" Rory asked, raising a brow. It was too early in the morning for her and honestly, she could never be quite sure what Sookie St. James was talking about.

"Tristan," Sookie clarified.

"Oh, that would be the blonde way over there with the coffee thermos," Rory told her, pointing across the room, "He's not much of a morning person."

"Wow, you're mother said he was good-looking," Sookie grinned, "But, wow."

"Sookie," Jackson reminded his wife that he was present.

"Oh, hush," Sookie shook her head at Jackson, "I'm allowed to look."

"Well, I better get back there before the marathon start," Rory told them, "I just wanted to say hi."

"Ok, well, hi!" Sookie giggled and waved as Rory returned to Tristan.

"Hey," she greeted, "Ready to start?"

"Sure we can't back out?" Tristan wondered.

"Do you want my mother to kill us?" Rory reminded him. Tristan contemplated that a second before offering Rory his arm. "Good choice," Rory grinned.

It was fifteen minutes into the dance before the two couples ran into each other. Rory and Tristan had been having as much of a good time as possible when she looked up the find Jess and Kate swaying near by. Of course, Rory couldn't help but mumble a hello to him.

"Hey," Jess nodded in return.

"Rory!" Kate exclaimed, "Who's your date?"

"Oh, Tristan this is Jess and Kate," Rory introduced, "Guys this is Tristan. We used to go to Chilton together." Kate smiled at Tristan and removed her hand from Jess' shoulder to shake Tristan's, the two men just nodded silently at each other.

"Is Lorelai bringing Liza by later?" Kate wanted to know, "I have something to give her. If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Rory shook her head, "Liza always loves getting gifts, and she really likes you too."

"I'm glad," Kate smiled, "She's such a wonderful kid."

"I know," Rory couldn't help but smile as well, "She's as good as they come."

"She is," Kate nodded, "I just wanted to make sure it was alright with you. I mean, I didn't want you to feel like I was imposing."

"Not at all," Rory kept her smile plastered on even though now it had sunk its way down to fake. It wasn't Kate having a present for Liza that bothered her; it was the situation they were in right now.

"Great," Kate nodded happily. Silence ensued that comment. There wasn't much else to say, the men were beginning to size each other up and both Tristan and Jess had a fixed glare on each other. Only Rory seemed to notice this because she was the only one looking for it.

Tristan whirled Rory away as soon as the conversation was apparently over. Rory sighed and looked up at him. If only he knew that he were about to be in Jess' shoes, almost. You couldn't exactly compare the two situations but they were similar. Rory glanced over at the countdown clock and her frown deepened, only 20 minutes had passed since the marathon had commenced.

"Everything alright?" Tristan asked. Rory turned back to face him and tried her hardest to smile.

"Fine," she shrugged.

"You know what Fine stands for right?" Tristan wondered with a smirk.

"Don't you dare quote _The Italian Job_ Tristan DuGray," Rory warned, "Or I will not speak to you for the rest of the night."

"Freaked-Out, Insecure, Neurotic and…" Tristan continued on, but Rory cut him off.

"I wonder why I even try," she groaned.

"Come on Mary, you know that you wouldn't last twenty-four hours without talking to me," Tristan chuckled.

"Want to bet?" Rory questioned, "We Gilmores are pretty good at holding a grudge. Just ask Luke."

"I'll take your word for it," Tristan smirked. Lane and Dave danced up to them then, Lane's brilliant smile never fading.

"Hey!" Lane greeted, "How's it going?"

"It's only been twenty minutes," Tristan mentioned, "And I'm ready to leave."

"This is only my second Dance Marathon," Dave told him, "I watched them every other year until Lorelai convinced Lane that we had to help her bring Kirk down."

"She did not," Lane protested, "I just thought it would be fun."

"And another way to rebel against Mama Kim since she's taken a liking to Dave," Rory added, "How are Paris and Jamie doing?"

"I think they're in a fight," Lane informed Rory, "It sounded pretty nasty."

"It's Jamie and Paris though," Rory shrugged, "They fight and then make up."

"I don't know Ror," Lane gave her friend a sad look, "I've heard them fight too, but nothing like this."

Paris was fuming. Twenty minutes into this stupid Stars Hollow event and Jamie had already picked a fight with her. She wanted to yell and lash out at him but they were in the middle of a dance floor with most of Stars Hollow around them. "This is great," Paris hissed, "You do this in the middle of a crowd where you know I can't yell at you!"

"Do what?" Jamie asked defensively.

"Pick this stupid argument with me!" Paris exclaimed, "You're always doing this!"

"Paris it was just a simple question," Jamie reminded her, "It's something we've talked about."

"And I told you what I thought!" Paris tone was rising, "And you still asked me! In the middle of this dance marathon!"

"I love you, you know that right?" Jamie asked.

"That doesn't matter!" Paris argued.

"Yes it does!" Jamie snapped, "I just asked you to marry me and you're blowing up at me. Most girls would say yes and cry after they've been with their boyfriend after four years! I didn't expect you to cry, but to start yelling at me! To act like I just broke up with you!"

"But I told you already!" Paris took a deep breath, "I don't want to get married. We talked about this."

"Well I want to get married," Jamie mentioned, "I want to have a wedding and kids."

"Marriage always ends up with both people being miserable," Paris said, "Look at my parents! Look at your parent!"

"They didn't love each other," Jamie pointed out, "Not like us."

"You are so naïve!" Paris was shouting now, people were turning and looking at them, "Love this, love that! Love doesn't solve everything."

"Paris I can't stay with you if this is going nowhere," Jamie sighed, letting go of Paris' hand and walking odd.

"You can't walk away from me Jamie!" Paris shouted after him, following him off the dance floor. Her temper was rising. The nerve of that man, asking her to marry him and in a public place on top of that.

Rory watched Paris and Jamie storm off the dance floor and the number of couples flip down one. She wanted to run after Paris and remind her that Jamie was supposed to be her one true love and that was reason enough to get married. Rory had head Paris' marriage argument before and disagreed completely with it. She knew that one day maybe Paris would change her mind about marriage, she just hoped that it wouldn't be too late.

"You have your yellow card," Tristan reminded her, "Go after her."

"Okay," Rory nodded and pulled out the yellow card, flashing it in the air and she ran off the dance floor and after her roommates.

It took her a minute to find Paris sitting alone in the gazebo, tears streaming down her cheeks. Rory approached her friend and sat down next to her. "He's gone," Paris muttered, "Got into his car and drove off."

"He'll come back," Rory assured her, "He always does. He just needs to cool down."

"I blew it Rory," Paris muttered, "I really blew it. He's not coming back, not this time."

"Paris..." Rory trailed.

"No," Paris shook her head brusquely, "Don't. Go back there. You have enough to deal with without trying to comfort me and my lame problems."

"They're not..." Rory began but Paris cut her off.

"Go!" she exclaimed. Rory sighed and obeyed Paris, heading back to the dance floor where Tristan, Lane, and Dave were all waiting for her.

When she got back they all gave her questioning looks and Rory shook her head, "He's gone."

"Shit," Tristan cursed, "How's Paris holding up?" Tristan had only met Jamie a month ago but he knew that he was good for Paris and that Paris loved him a lot. The two were perfect for each other, complemented each other in every way. He had gotten all of this from only one real encounter with the two of them, but it was true. Tristan also knew Paris well enough from all those years in high school. She wouldn't take this well.

"I don't know," Rory told him honestly, "She's Paris, she never really lets you know what she's really feeling. She doesn't think he's coming back."

"What do you think?" Tristan asked, raising a brow and watching her carefully. Rory bit her lip and shrugged a little, looking up at him. She didn't know if Jamie was going to come back. She hoped to god that he would, for Paris' sake, for his own sake even. Paris needed him, and she loved him. Even though she didn't want to get married right now Rory was sure she would want to one day.

"I don't know," she finally replied, in words. Her voice cracked a little, sadness filling it. She hated seeing this happen, hated seeing people who cared so much for each other end their relationship like this. Hated seeing it end altogether. She had been there from the beginning of their relationship, had watched it grow and had watched how different Paris became around him, with him. Paris had never been happier than when Rory saw her with Jamie.

Fourteen hours had passed and Paris now sat sulking on the benches next to Lorelai, Lucas and Liza, who was happily playing with some her toys and keeping occupied. Rory's feet ached and she leaned her head on Tristan's shoulder, his arms were wrapped around her, keeping her up and they moved slowly. "Can we quit yet?" She muttered.

"Well, if you really want to," Tristan smirked, "But need I remind you of your mother sitting on those benches over there looking very intimidating despite the fact that she's very, very pregnant?"

Rory opened her mouth to speak but she froze when she heard the blare of a horn and Taylor starting to shout nonsense in his megaphone. She groaned loudly, remembering what came next, the run-around. She looked at Tristan apologetically, "I'm sorry."

Tristan raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, and stepped back a little to look at her better, "Sorry for what exactly?"

"For not telling about this," Rory mentioned as they began to run around the circle, trying their hardest not to be in the last five. Lane and Dave were ahead of them, keeping good pace, she sensed that Jess was behind her, a tingling feeling running up and down her spine but she didn't let that stop her. She kept running, letting Tristan lead her. Her legs felt like rubber and she was tired, she didn't know how she let her mother convince her to do this again.

"Oh. Right," Tristan huffed, he was a few paces in front of Rory but she kept a hold of his hand so she could keep up and wouldn't fall behind. Finally, the horn sounded again and Taylor called a ten minute break. Rory headed over to get more coffee from Luke and went to join Tristan by Liza and Lorelai. Lane and Dave were there as well, Lane sitting by Paris trying to talk to her and Dave was beside Liza playing with her toys.

She reached the benches at the same time Jess and Kate did, Jess' arm wrapped around Kate's shoulder who was smiling brightly, camera in hands again and snapping pictures here and there without any notice. Liza looked up and smiled, just as Kate clicked a picture of her. "Heya!"

"Hey Liza," Kate greeted merrily and took a seat at the end of the bench, changing her film. Jess sat next to her, but caught Rory's eye. She held his gaze for a moment, before turning away and looking up at her daughter.

"Momma!" Liza hopped down the bench and wrapped her arms around her mother, "Grams bought me a new doll and a new book and she let me have all the chocolate I wanted for breakfast!" She was grinning broadly up at her mother.

"That's great sweetie," Rory told her, looking up at Lorelai who did her best to look innocent. Liza nodded and hopped back over to play with Dave again and Rory handed Tristan a cup of coffee of his own and went over to where Paris and Lane were.

As soon as she sat down though, Paris stood up. "Look, before you two start your tag team interrogation I don't want to talk about what happened with me and Jamie!" She looked Rory in the eyes then, behind her sadness Rory saw the same, fire and determination, the same bossy Paris she'd always known, "Plus, you have something more important to take care of. I think it would be better to do it now."

"She's right," Rory's gaze shifted to Lane, who had just spoken then. Her best friend nodded. Rory sighed. She knew they were right, knew that Paris could take care of herself and that Lane was there for her.

Hesitating a moment, Rory pulled herself to her feet and walked down the bleachers to where Tristan was standing. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Rory's voice came out in a whisper, "I need to talk to you about something. Something really important."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Tristan nodded as she took his hand and led him away from the crowd of the dance marathon, away from the music and laughing and over to the gazebo. Once there she sat down and looked at him carefully, her hands resting on her lap. After a moment of staring she looked down at her hands and took a deep breath, contemplating for the hundredth time how she was going to tell him this.

"What is it Mary?" Tristan asked, the tone of his voice told her he was concerned with the way she was acting. She couldn't hold it off any longer.

Taking one last, deep breath she looked up again. "Tristan, there's something I've got to tell you, something that could be considered pretty life-changing," she paused a moment, letting this first bit sink in. Finally, she spoke again, "I'm pregnant."


	14. The Longest Day: Part 2

**Family Portrait**

****

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews. I know you guys waited a long time for that last chapter and I'm really sorry. Anyway, the only reason I let the evil cliffhanger was because I wanted to get that chapter to you as soon as I could and that was the only way. Also, as promised I have dedicated myself to finishing this story and updating more often. Here you guys go, now please review and tell me what you think.

**Chapter 14: The Longest Day Part 2**

Tristan stared at Rory in utter shock, a cold wind whirled around them and she wrapped her arms around herself to try to keep warm, waiting for him to say something. The silence was the kind of silence no one liked, never wanted to experience. Thick, uncomfortable, chilling silence impossible to just wish away. She stared right back at him, unable to break the silence herself.

Finally, Tristan looked away from her, expression still unreadable. He removed his jacket and slid it over her shoulders, trying to help her get warm. Blue eyes still unblinking, she slipped her arms into the sleeves and watched him carefully, trying to find her voice again.

He beat her to it though, as he sat next to her and ran a hand through his hair. Turning back to look at her once more, eyebrow raised he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Rory croaked in response, nodding ever so slightly. Wrapping the jacket tighter around her small frame, trying to disappear into it. More than anything she wanted to be able to tell what he was thinking, feeling about this but Tristan kept his composure, letting out a long, deep breath.

"And it's mine?" He said this precautiously, so as not to offend her. There was no insinuation of calling her a whore, or saying that she slept around a lot. It was just to be absolutely sure that he understood what she was saying right. Rory knew this and just nodded, letting this news sink in for him. "So…that night…"

"Yeah, that night," she nodded once more, you wouldn't have even seen her nod if you hadn't been watching closely. Rory was practically frozen in place, sure that the news she had just relayed still hadn't been processed in his head.

"What now?" Tristan finally asked, looking to her as if she had all the answers in the world. He looked scared then, different than Rory had ever seen him. Almost like a small child who was confused by the world around him.

"I don't know," her reply finally came. They sat there for a while longer in silence once more. The bustling of the marathon could still be heard faintly in the distance, people laughing, enjoying their time together, enjoying the Stars Hollow event as they always did. It was well into the morning by this time, the sun having risen what seemed like centuries ago. It was unbelievable that so much time had passed since the marathon had commenced.

"I want to be there," if it hadn't had been as silent as it was, if she hadn't been waiting to hear something else, she might've missed his whisper. A small, relieved smiled appeared and she glanced back over at him, showing that she wanted him there too. "I wouldn't dream of not being there," this statement came louder, clearer and more confident than the last one.

"Good," Rory's smile grew a little, the feeling of suffocating fear of being along slowly letting go of her heart, "Because I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around for this. I don't think I could do this alone, being the only parent again."

"I wouldn't do that to you," he assured her, wrapping his arm around her and drawing her close, "Never to you Mary." She leaned into him and felt near tears, happiness of knowing that she would never have to worry about being alone overwhelming her. For once, things didn't look so bleak anymore; everything was going to be all right.

He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head and Rory buried her face in his chest and held on tightly, crying ever so slightly, breathing in his sweet scent. It was nothing like Jess' but it was comforting nonetheless. He was the father of her second child; he was her rock, her best friend right now. Not like Lane or Paris, but a different kind of best friend. He understood things about her that no one else would.

They were a sight to see. Two adults seeking comfort in each other with the big news that had just connected them forever, they had created the life that was at this moment growing inside of her. Although both knew that she could never love him the way he wished she would, she loved him in a way she would never love anyone else and that was enough.

When it came time to return to the marathon, both ignored the bellowing of the mega-phone, the start of the music. It didn't matter anymore. It hadn't mattered in the first place, but now they had to deal with a lot more than just winning some stupid trophy. Lane and Dave were still there to win for Lorelai.

Jess scanned the crowd as Kate dragged him back onto the dance floor, searching for them. More specifically searching for her. He had known when they left that she was going to tell Tristan what she had told him already. Jealousy had overwhelmed him, but now he was more afraid of losing her to him. It was insane, here he was with Kate, a woman he cared deeply for, loved even and he was afraid of losing something that wasn't his anymore to begin with.

They weren't there, had not returned from where they went off too and Jess grew anxious. He knew Kate could probably tell that he was antsy, off somewhere else, she always could. More than anything Jess felt guilty about feeling the way he did towards Rory when Kate was here, wonderful Kate who loved him more than anything.

"Jess?" Kate poked his arm lightly, and Jess looked at her then. She had been trying to get his attention for a while; he knew this by the look in her eye. "What's up?" Eyebrows furrowed she watched him carefully with her deep, green eyes.

He leaned in closer to her and whispered so only she could hear, "Rory's pregnant again."

"What?" Although her voice was low, to not cause a scene she had pulled back, shock etched across her pretty face, "You're not…"

"No," Jess shook his head abruptly, dismissing her thought of him cheating, "Tristan."

"Oh. Good," Kate nodded, confused now, "So, she went to tell him then."

"I guess," Jess shrugged, "They're not back."

"Why does it matter Jess?" She wondered, "I know you're Liza's father and that you might be afraid of him taking over whatever role and relationship you're trying to form with her, but you had this look before…when you zoned out…"

"I think I might still love her," Jess confessed. There was no use lying about, too much hurt would come from just that one lie. He couldn't deal with anymore hurt or secrets. Not after everything that had happened since he returned to Starts Hollow and saw Rory again.

"You think?" Kate said slowly, she looked hurt. Holding back tears she took in deep breaths, refusing to look at Jess just then. She didn't want to see the truth in his eyes, didn't want to see what she feared would be there, what she had ignored for the longest time.

"I know," he too was looking away from her it was too hard.

"I know too," she nodded, and then leaned into him, letting her tears loose and Jess held her for what might be the last time.

Lane danced happily with Dave, Lorelai had gone off to talk with Luke, Rory was dealing with her troubles and here Paris was alone. Not really alone if you counted the fact that she was playing 'Go Fish' with Liza as Lucas slept on the bench next to her. Jamie was gone and she doubted he was going to come back.

She was Paris Gellar though, she was tough, mean, and would no cry. This was just a setback, Jamie had been a distraction and he was weak and sentimental. Yet, Paris still couldn't convince herself about any of those facts. It was stupid, not wanting to get married, not wanting to have kids. One mistake, not even made by her, had formed her whole opinion on marriage.

Lorelai and Luke were making it work. Emily and Richard Gilmore seemed to be doing fine, despite little disputes from time to time, and now Lane and Dave were even taking the plunge. Paris couldn't understand why she couldn't do the same thing. She loved Jamie more than anything else in the world.

Taking out her cell phone Paris dialed the all too familiar numbers of Jamie's own, but hung up before even the first ring as Liza stared at her, wide-eyed and waiting for Paris to take her turn quickly growing impatient. Putting the phone away, the cards down on the bench, Paris got up and climbed down the bench. Sookie seeing her leave, let go of Jackson's hand and went over to sit with Liza, forgetting about the dance marathon altogether. Paris barely took notice though.

Walking away, away from everything Paris began to sob. Brushing her blonde hair back, she continued down the street letting her façade drop. Warm tears dripped down off her chin and fell onto the cold asphalt, some fell to her shoes and others were wiped away by a swift movement of her hand. Cheeks tear stained, eye red and puffy, and low, deep sobs made her look like some stranger. Someone unfamiliar to even her, she couldn't remember the last time she had actually cried.

It hadn't taken long for her to convince herself that Jamie wasn't coming back, after all everyone eventually left her. Her father hadn't tried to contact her in years, her mother basically ignored her, Louise and Madeleine had pretty much dropped off the face of the planet. All she had left was Rory and Lane and someday too they would be gone. Lane was getting married, Rory was having Tristan's baby. One day, neither of them would have time for poor, pathetic Paris Gellar.

Shaking her head Paris wiped away her tears and turned to look at herself in a window of a store along the street. She was a mess. "Get a grip Gellar," she ordered her reflection, "You're starting to sound like Gilmore with all these thoughts of being alone. Gilmore and Lane aren't going to stop talking to me. Jamie will come back and we'll apologize or else it's his loss! That's right, his loss…not mine."

Rory and Tristan returned to the marathon after an hour. During that time they had sat in each other's arm, comforted by knowing they were going to be all right, doing this together. They had talked some, about the future, about what they were going to do. Nothing had been decided, but it was all as well. Nothing needed to be decided, they would take everything one baby step at a time.

It had been a long morning, and Rory was sure that their day was far from over. Although the biggest of her worries was out of the way, she couldn't know what would come next. Stars Hollow events were always full of surprises.

By now, her mother was talking with Sookie as both played with Liza, Paris was no where in sight and Lane and Dave seemed to be having a pleasant enough time out on the dance floor. Her eye caught Jess and Kate, still dancing but Kate looked as if she had just been crying. She and Jess both looked slightly uncomfortable, as if they were two people who used to be in love and had just met years later, one of them still longing for the other.

"Where've you been?" Lorelai exclaimed, upon seeing her and Tristan.

"Talking," Rory told her mother, as she walked up to the two. Lorelai stood up and gave her daughter a big hug, knowing that it was what she needed just then.

"Everything all right?" Lorelai asked, concerned. Her gaze fell on Tristan and Rory knew she was ready to kill him if he had done anything to make her sad.

"Everything's fine,' Rory assured her mother, "We're all going to be okay."

"Yeah, we are," Tristan nodded, smiling a little. He wrapped his arm around Rory and she looked up and him and smiled back.

"You are a good man Mr. DuGray," Lorelai grinned, "My daughter hasn't smiled in days. I like you."

"Well, that's comforting, considering I'm going to be the father of you're next grandchild," Tristan pointed out, "Be a shame to hate me. All the family events you'll have to see me at."

"Quit while you're ahead," Lorelai warned, "Family events shall not be mentioned around me!"

"Yes m'am," Tristan nodded, "I'm sure I can work with that."

"Good," Lorelai nodded, "Now since you two are clearly out of the marathon, I suggest you sit and hope Lane and Dave save your sorry asses and win this year! Otherwise be prepared to face the wrath of Lorelai Gilmore!"

"Mom…" Rory muttered, shaking her head. Sometimes her mother just didn't know when to let go of the fact that she may never be able to beat Kirk at the Dance Marathon unless he got into an unfortunate accident where he couldn't dance or died. Of course, one was just as likely as the other but with Kirk, you could count that he would rise from the grave just to take the trophy from Lorelai.

"Oh fine," Lorelai huffed, reading her daughter's mind, "There will be no killing of my beloved daughter or the father of her child."

"Thank god," Tristan grinned, taking a seat on the bench, facing away from the dance marathon. Liza moved down to sit in front of him then and slammed the deck of cards onto the empty space in front of her.

"Play with me," this was an order, not a request and even though Rory knew she had taught her daughter manors, she was still only four and could no be counted on to actually be the perfect little girl twenty four-seven.

"Sure," Tristan nodded, picking the cards up and shuffling them, "What's your game of choice? Rummy, Crazy Eights, Strip Poker?"

Rory poked Tristan in the rubs, and gave him a disapproving frown. He just shot her his patented Tristan DuGray smirk and turned back to Liza. "Go Fish!" she declared proudly, the exchange between her mother and Tristan going unnoticed, not even picking up on the Strip Poker suggestion. This surprised Rory, usually Liza was like a sponge with things that she wasn't supposed to do or say. Deciding not to push her luck, Rory watched the two a bit before turning her gaze back onto the dance floor.

Slowly, the numbers were diminishing, but there was still quite some time left in the marathon. Kirk looked like he could hold out forever, and Lane and Dave looked in pretty good shape too. Rory wouldn't be surprised if this were a close call, especially not with her perky Korean best friend in the running. Jess and Kate though looked like they were ready to quit at any second; they had gone from a happy couple to miserable in a matter of minutes it seemed.

"What happened to Paris?" Rory asked, she'd rather not dwell on what was wrong with Kate and Jess, especially not when she was happy about thinking the worst happened with them.

"She got up and left a while before you guys got back," Lorelai replied, "She was playing with Liza and called Sookie over to take over before taking off. That girl's always ceased to amaze me."

"I'm worried about her," Rory admitted, "Paris has a tendency of bottling up."

"Kind of like someone I know," Lorelai smiled faintly at her daughter and Rory looked away. Had her attitude during the past month or so rub off on Paris?

"Things have been going all wrong lately," Rory sighed, feeling comforted by the feel on Tristan's touch on the small of her back, reminding her that things might not be as bad as them seem. She might never be able to have Jess, but at least she knew Tristan would be there for her regardless.

"I know," Lorelai nodded, placing her hand on her stomach, "But things will get better. They always do. You'll have a new brother and sister, a new kid; Lane and Dave are getting married. Things _will _get better."

"Yeah," Rory smiled, and glanced behind her once more at the dance marathon, at the people of Stars Hollow. Her mother was right that things would get better. It was all uphill from here in her mind. The worst was far behind her.

It was an hour before the end of the marathon. The day had come and gone once more and her mother had long ago left to take Liza and Lucas back home. Paris was back, talking with Tristan as Rory sipped her newly fetched coffee. Although Luke and Tristan had both tried to stop her, she had still convinced both of them that coffee would not harm the baby. Liza was proof, so both men had agreed that she could have it only for this night though. After she was going to have to follow the same 'no coffee' rule as Lorelai.

Jess and Kate were still on the dance floor but they looked decidedly more comfortable than they had a few hours ago. Rory had monitored them occasionally, and saw that they had been talking at first seriously and now amicable. There were no longer pecks on the cheek or short sweet kisses though, she couldn't help but notice. What had happened while she had been away, Rory had no idea. She did intend on finding out though, one way or another.

Tristan reached out and put a hand on her shoulder and Rory turned around and smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear and taking another sip of her coffee. "I'm going to be right back," he told her and she nodded and he walked away.

"You two are acting like an old married couple now," Paris noted quietly. Although she looked better than when she had left, there was still a flicker of sadness to be seen in her eyes.

"We are not," Rory shook her head, "He's just trying to make sure me and his baby are all right."

"He loves you Rory," the blonde told her, Rory knew this but it felt all the more real coming from someone else, "If he thought you'd say yes, he'd ask you to marry him."

"Because he thinks it would be the right thing to do," She wasn't so sure this was true, but it was what she wanted to believe. It made things easier to believe that.

"No," Paris shook her head; "Tristan DuGray would've asked you to marry him in High School if he could've."

"He was just trying to make me another one of his conquests, he doesn't love me Paris!" As she said this, Rory glanced at Tristan who had stopped on the way to the bathroom to say a couple of words to Dave, getting some water for him and Lane. If he asked, Rory wasn't sure she'd say no.

"Believe what you want Gilmore," Paris shrugged, "But I know Tristan DuGray, and I know that look he's been giving you all night."

Rory sighed and shook her head. She loved Jess with all of her heart, yes, but sometimes it might just be better to let go of that love and make room for something new. Make room for what Tristan was willing to give her. Maybe she could love him, not like he loved her, but close enough.

Jess smiled slightly at Kate. Things were better now than they had been so long ago. It would've been easy to just drop out of the marathon and walk away from this, but he wouldn't let himself. Neither would Kate; she had insisted that they work through this. Even though they couldn't be in a relationship anymore, not now that he admitted to loving Rory they could at least be friends. After all, it's the way they had started.

They'd had a serious talk, a talk about his feelings towards her, and towards Rory. About what her wanted too do now and in the end they had found a good place to start over. There was still the awkward pause, the impulse to kiss her when she turned her head and swept her hair out of her face. Or when she looked up and gave him that cute smile of hers. It wasn't love though, it was habit, and it was an attraction that would always be there.

"What're you thinking about?" Kate asked after a moment, arms wrapped around his neck. She didn't look as sad as she did, but she didn't look as happy as she was when the marathon had started twenty-three hours ago. Being stuck spending all day with each other, they had been forced to work out their problems quicker than others.

"About us," Jess told her honestly, "About what happened today."

Kate nodded, "Yeah. Kind of strange how quickly things can change."

"Yeah…" Jess nodded, trailing off, "Kate?"

"Hmm?" Kate raised a brow.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Kate frowned a little, completely unsure about what he was talking about. She didn't understand why he was thanking her, couldn't understand what here was to thank her for. Jess knew he had so many reasons to thank her though, more than he could count.

"For everything," she said simply and kissed her forehead, "You're great."

"Just not Rory Gilmore," she said this somewhat bitterly, but then she shook her head and flashed him a small smile. Jess knew that was just some of the remaining hurt coming out. He expected it because she did love him, had told him many times that he was her first real love.

"No, but Rory was…is different, I don't know why I love her and sometimes I wish I could love you like I do her," the words felt strange in Jess' mouth. He had never said anything similar to this but he felt that if anyone deserved them it would be Kate.

"I think I better go now," Kate told him quietly, "Think it'd be better for both of us if I did." She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Good luck with everything Jess Mariano." Then, with that she left and walked off of the dance floor and out of his life. Maybe forever.

Rory watched as Kate left Jess standing on the dance floor and felt a strange flutter in the pit of her stomach. They had broken up, that much she knew but she wasn't sure what that could mean for them. If there could even be a them now that she was pregnant and Tristan was here for her.

She didn't want to be selfish; she didn't want people to hate her, namely Tristan. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him after he had been here for her all this time. Really, she wasn't sure she wanted to jump into Jess' arms no matter how much she loved him. For the past two months she had been depressed about Jess and not being with Jess now that he was back. She felt alone and unwanted, but now she was finally feeling a bit happy again. If Jess left her again, if something went wrong she would just fall back into the same cycle.

No, he wouldn't leave her. Not with Liza in the picture now. She didn't know what she was going to do if Jess wanted to be with her. There was so much more to consider now. Tristan was coming back towards them and Rory glanced away from Jess to watch him come back towards them. Just as Jess stepped off the dance floor and up to where they were.

"Rory," Jess greeted, nodding at Paris and Tristan briefly.

"Jess," Rory nodded back at him, "You need something."

"Can we talk?" Jess raised a brow, waiting quietly for an answer and Rory nodded, standing up and going up to him.

"Sure," she stood next to him and looked into his chocolate brown eyes, "The bridge?" Jess nodded silently and turned to lead the way.

Lane leaned her head on Dave chest and close her eyes, she was so close to sleep it was unbelievable. He held onto her tightly but she could feel his head nod now and then. Checking the time she saw that there was not much time left, that another couple was walking off the dance floor and that there were only they, Kirk and one other couple.

They were so close to winning, she could almost taste victory and she glanced into the crowd to see if Lorelai was back yet to see them. She was, almost at least, walking down the street towards the marathon having gotten Sookie to take her place watching over Lucas and Liza to watch the end.

Kirk was badgering the other couple, trying to get them to quit and Lane knew they would. No matter how tired she was, she would not let Kirk win for another year. He was still undefeated and Lane planned to change that, especially considering that this was her first marathon and she already knew all the tricks thanks to Lorelai.

"We're almost done," she whispered to Dave, she could feel him growing antsier by the second. It had been a long Day and he was ready to get it over with and go to bed. So was she.

The third couple dropped out, the woman letting go of her husband to snap at Kirk and suddenly there was only Lane, Dave, Kirk and his date left. Adrenaline pumped through Lane's veins and she was suddenly more awake. This was it, the moment that she had been waiting for all night, the moment she knew Lorelai had been anticipating for years. They could and they would beat Kirk this year.

"Lane…" Dave said lowly, warning her not to get too harsh with Kirk. Lane had made Kirk cry one a couple of years ago, and she could make him cry again if that's what it took to win. She knew that was what Dave was trying to tell her not to do though.

"Give it up Lane!" Kirk demanded, "Lorelai and Luke couldn't beat me, neither can you two!"

"Watch me!" Lane grinned, "We're younger than you, we can party all night and we can stay up and we're not the least bit tired."

"_You're_ not the least bit tired," Dave whispered in reminded, "_I'd_ be willing to trade in my guitar for a bed right now."

"Kirk, let's just let them win, I'm tired too," his date whined. Then, Kirk stepped back, upset and started to say something when he realized he had let go of her. His eyes grew wide as Miss Patty began to announce that Lane and Dave were the winners as Taylor continued to sleep soundly beside her.

On the sidelines Lorelai could be seen jumping up and down in happiness, Paris was clapping and Luke was walking over to attempt to calm his wife down. Lane let go of Dave and started to jump up and down as well, exhilarated about having won the dance marathon.

Kirk had succumbed to crying on the floor as Lane wrapped her arms around Dave and kissed him passionately while Lorelai grabbed the trophy from Patty and danced around him. "We won!" Lane shouted happily and ran over to Lorelai, joining her dance.

"You two are evil," Luke shook his head, coming up to stand next to Dave, Tristan and Paris joining them as well.

"They're taking too much pleasure in this," Dave noted, chuckling lightly.

Jess and Rory sat side by side on the bridge, their feet dangling off the edge. They had been sitting there for a while in silence, Jess trying to decide what to say and Rory waiting for him to say something.

The water was dark and calm, ripples appearing down and then as a bug fluttered over the surface, and the moon and stars sparkling down in it. The air was crisp and Rory still had Tristan's jacket wrapped tightly around her. "So?" she broke the silence, anticipating what he had to say, wanting to know what it is he wanted to tell her.

"Kate and I broke up," he said quietly.

"I figured," Rory said in reply and glanced sideways at him, trying to read the expression on his face. Jess remained, as ever, unreadable.

"Because of you," he added after a moment, and Rory was taken aback. She hadn't expected that, even if she had thought it she didn't think that Jess would out and tell her that she was the reason they ended their relationship.

"Me?" Rory breathed, looking at Jess' reflection in the water then.

"I love you Rory," she saw him look away from her, look away from even her reflection in the water as he said this and Rory knew he meant it. It was only the second time she had ever heard her say those four words her all in the same sentence.

She said nothing for a while; she processed this information slowly making sense of what he had just told her. The words were on the tip of her tongue but she hesitated saying them in return even though she felt them. There were so many things to take into consideration now. "I love you too Jess," she finally responded, he needed to know how she felt, "But I don't know if I can be with you."

"Do you love him too?" he asked.

"Not like you," Rory shook her head, "I might love him though and I'm pregnant with his kid now. I need to consider all the possibilities. He wants to be there for me, for the baby, for everyone."

"I want to be there too," Jess told her, "I love you Rory and I want to be with you. I want to be a father to Liza and I want to be a father or a step dad or whatever to this kid too. If you'll let me I want to be in your life, forever."

"I-I don't know," Rory was near tears, everything she had wanted was right in front of her but right now she wasn't sure if it was still what she wanted., if it was what was best for her, for the baby, and for Liza.

"Think about it," Jess pleaded.

"I'll think about it," Rory agreed and then got up and walked away back over to the marathon to see what had happened. It had been a long day and now she was looking forward to falling asleep and waking up with a fresh new day ahead of her. To look at all of this with a clear head and figure out the new load of problems and choices that had presented themselves.


	15. Dad

**Family Portrait**

****

****

**Author's Note:** This is a bit of a fluffy chapter, there's still a bit of drama and conflict but it's mostly to take have a bit of a lighter chapter after all the drama in the past. Plus, it's what came out as I wrote so didn't have much of a choice. Like I said I'm dedicated to finishing this story so expect more frequent updates until the end. Thank you to those who reviewed and I hope you like t his chapter as well. Trust me, the drama isn't nearly done because more ideas keep flowing in. Review and tell me what you think of this new chapter.

**Chapter 15 Dad**

Rory groaned and rolled over in bed, but instead on finding another comfy spot she found herself landing hard on the floor, blankets knotted around her. Letting out another loud groan she brushed her hair out of her face and sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. It was almost eleven o'clock in morning and as far as Rory knew it was the Sunday after the dance marathon and she had not slept through another day as she felt she had.

Slowly standing up she went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and looked herself over in the mirror. Her hair was long, falling over her shoulders and it was already beginning to curl slightly as it began to slowly dry. Checking her watch once more she threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt and headed out of her room in the Inn.

Stopping by the kitchen to say hello to Sookie, Rory grabbed her breakfast and left the Inn quickly, heading towards the main street. Within mere minutes she found herself in front of the hair salon and she stepped in. She needed a change.

"Rory!" Monique the young lady behind the counter grinned at her. She had moved to Stars Hollow a year ago and was already wrapped up in the small town gossip and knew everything about everyone.

"Hi," Rory greeted quietly, "I'd like a cut."

"A cut or a trim?" Monique raised her dark brow, "There's a difference."

"Cut," Rory nodded, decisively. She was not an impulsive person, usually, her impulses landed her in trouble, but this was something she felt she had to do.

Surprised, Monique nodded and looked down at the appointment book in front of her, moving her finger down the page. "Right, I can take you right away or you can wait until Cass gets in."

"Now," Rory told her, "If I wait I'm probably going to think this out and change my mind."

Monique laughed lightly and then led Rory to the back of the salon and washed her hair again. As she did Rory closed her eyes and thought about the previous twenty-four hours. So much had happened Rory found it hard to keep track of everything. At the end of the night she had been left with a big, life altering decision.

She could go back to Jess and hope that things would be as they were, as she had always dreamed they would be if they were together again. Or she could try and make a new life with Tristan and their new baby along with Liza. To some it might seem like an easy choice, but they weren't in Rory's shoes and they could never truly know how she felt about either of the men. Really, this might be the most difficult decision she would ever have to make.

About an hour later, Rory emerged from the hair salon a changed woman. Changed in appearance as well as in thought. For the past hour she had sat quietly and thought to herself without any input from others to influence her thoughts. She did have to listen to Monique's gossip for a good portion of the hour, but it still hadn't really affected her train of thought.

Although she didn't know whom she was going to chose, she did know that she was going to take her time and carefully consider everything. It was what she did; evaluate every option and chose the best one out of them all. She was going to do this just as she would have years ago before Liza. This wasn't a decision to jump into.

Her hair was shorter now, falling right under her chin and instead of being flat and dead straight as it usually was after being blow-dried it was a mass of dark curls. Her blue eyes seemed to shine brighter now and she looked more sophisticated, older and had less of a child-like innocence. This was what she had needed, what she had been looking for.

As she walked towards Luke's she received many stares from the familiar Stars Hollow folks. Ignoring them, she walked confidently up to the diner and pulled the door open, the jingles of the bells above announcing her arrival. From behind the counter Luke looked up and froze in mid-argument with his wife, Lorelai noticing this turned brusquely and looked at her daughter wide-eyed while Liza ran out from upstairs, Jess walking slowly down behind her, stopping upon catching sight of Rory. Tristan, who had been arriving behind Rory, realized that the pretty girl he had been watching was none other than his Mary.

Rory looked at them all, turning when she sensed Tristan's presence behind her, wondered if she had been wrong about how it looked. Seeing their stares she suddenly felt self-conscious and tucked some of her curls behind her ear nervously, only to have a few fall loose once more. "You're hair!" Lorelai explained, racing over to her daughter and touching the ends.

"It's ugly isn't it?" Rory frowned, looking away. All of a sudden she didn't feel so great anymore.

"No," her mother shook her head slowly, "It's beautiful."

Luke nodded in agreement, "It…brings out your eyes." Rory smiled at his compliment. She knew Luke wasn't one with words, so those meant a lot to her. Jess and Tristan could do nothing but nod.

"Looks like my Mary has grown up over night," Tristan grinned, finding his voice. Jess, much like his uncle, could still not form words to compliment her. Rory didn't mind though, she could see in his eyes what he thought about her new look.

"Mommy?" Liza looked up at her mother, head tilted to the side, "Where'd the rest of your hair go?"

Rory stooped down in front of her daughter and smiled a little, tucking the child's long brown hair behind her ears, "I got it cut."

"How come?" Liza asked curiously.

"I needed a change," Rory told her daughter who still look utterly confused.

"Why?"

"Sometimes it's just something that people need," Rory had no other way of explaining it than that, "Did you have breakfast."

"Yup!" Liza nodded enthusiastically, food was something Liza was always eager to talk about, "Luke gave me pancakes with lots of syrup on 'em."

"That's great sweetie," Rory smiled and went over to Luke to get the decaf cup of coffee he had just poured for her. The she took a seat at an empty table, Liza climbing up onto the chair next to her and Tristan pulling out a chair to sit across from her. Lorelai had gone back to taunting Luke and Jess was now filling some order for other customers, glancing Rory's way as often as he could manage.

"What're the plans for today?" Tristan wondered, "Anything I can be a part in before I go back to Boston."

Rory hadn't realized that Tristan was only here for the weekend until just then. He hadn't planned on staying any longer because he hadn't known he was going to find out Rory was pregnant. She felt a sudden pang in her heart; she didn't really want Tristan to leave just yet. Not with everything they needed to talk about, not with the choice she had to make.

"I don't know yet," Rory told him, staring into her cup of coffee, "When are you going to come back? Or come to New Haven again?"

"After my last class," Tristan replied, "That is, if you don't mind. I've only got three to go to this week so I should be able to drive down for Thursday."

"That'd be okay," Rory nodded, "I mean, there's a lot we're going to have to talk about."

Before Tristan could say anything in response, the bells above the diner door rang loudly again. Rory looked up to see if it was Lane, Dave or Paris finally come to join them, and she nearly dropped her cup of coffee when she saw whom it really was.

The man had many features that Rory herself had inherited, and next to him was his five-year-old daughter Georgia 'Gigi' Hayden. Christopher Hayden looked the same as Rory had seen him almost a year earlier at Christmas, a bit more tanned maybe. She could not tear her eyes away from her father to see what Lorelai and Luke's reaction to him was, but she was sure it was all to similar to the expression she wore now.

Liza, spotting her grandfather jumped off the chair and raced over to him. "Gramps!" the four year old jumped into his open arms and gave him a huge hug. Rory smiled faintly, Liza had always loved her grandfather, even though she rarely saw him.

Holding Liza in his arms and keeping a hold of his own daughter's hand Chris approached Rory and smiled, "Hey there kiddo, been a while."

"Yeah," Rory nodded, not sure what else to say, "Why are you here?"

"Was passing through," Chris offered, "Thought Georgia and I would stop by and see you and Liza."

"Chris," Lorelai approached her former flame, a curious frown on her face, "To what to we owe the pleasure of your appearance here?"

"I just told Rory, we were passing through," Chris looked Lorelai directly in the eyes and Rory thought she saw a flicker of what once was, what would never be again. She wondered which one of the men she had to choose from she would have that with.

"Where's Sherry?" Lorelai raised a brow.

"At home," Chris replied, "Packing."

"Packing?" Rory stood up then, "What happened?"

"We had a fight," Chris sighed, "She's leaving."

"I'm sorry," Lorelai put a hand on Chris' shoulder and offered Georgia a smile, "Do you know what's going to happen with Georgia? With you?"

Chris shook his head; "She doesn't want anything to do with us anymore." He spoke low so that Georgia, who had been dragged off by Liza, couldn't hear what he had said.

Luke had come up behind Lorelai and stood protectively behind her. Although he knew that Chris was no threat to him or his marriage to Lorelai, Rory knew that sometimes Luke just couldn't help it. He knew how much her mother had loved her father and that they had a special bond with him having fathered her first child. She offered her stepfather, the man who she had considered like a father to her long before her mother married him, an encouraging smile.

"I thought you guys were happy," Rory put in, "You were happy last time I talked to you, you both looked happy last Christmas."

"Things change," Chris shrugged, "I don't think we were ever happy. I think she thought I was only married to her because of Georgia and we pretty much lost any love we had for each other a long time ago. She just got fed up."

"How can she just leave her daughter thought?" Lorelai wondered aloud, watching Georgia across the room then. Liza was introducing her to Jess.

"I don't know," Chris told them, "She says she's not suited to be her mother." A frown appeared on his face as he caught sight of Jess, "Who's he."

"Umm…dad…" Rory hesitated a minute, she remembered her father's strong disliking for the father of her child. Not only because he impregnated his eldest daughter, but also for breaking her arm before that. "That's Jess."

"That's the hooligan who broke your arm and then knocked you up!" Chris nearly bellowed and a few customers glanced over at them briefly before turning back to their mirror.

"Hush!" Lorelai hissed, glaring at Chris, "First Liza doesn't know anything about Jess' being her father. Second, he didn't know until about two months ago and thirdly…" Lorelai stopped herself then and looked at her daughter.

"And thirdly?" Chris urged.

"Thirdly you ought to save your anger and sit down," Luke advised, "I think that Rory's got some more news you should know about."

Frowning, Chris took the seat Rory had once occupied and for the first time since he had arrived in the diner acknowledged Tristan's presence, sizing him up. Rory caught sight of her mother rolling her eyes and muttering something about men while Luke dragged her away so that Rory, Tristan and Chris could be alone.

"Who're you?" Chris asked Tristan, his fatherly tone slowly coming out.

"Tristan DuGray," Tristan leaned over and offered Chris his hand, but Rory's father did not accept. Instead he just nodded and Tristan shrugged and stood up going to Rory and taking her hand, letting her know he was there supporting her. When she saw her father's expression though, she knew that was not the brightest idea. Her father was extremely protective of her when it came to boyfriends after what had happened with Jess.

"Dad," Rory took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Chris stared blankly at his daughter and Rory didn't dare repeat the news she had just told him. She saw Jess talking with the girls and watching the three of them carefully out of the corner of his eye, deeply interested in what was happening.

"Sh-" Tristan began but was cut off by Rory shooting him a glare. She knew him, knew that he would likely offer up some unneeded sarcastic remark. Right now, that would only make things ten times worse.

"I heard what she said," Chris exhaled, "I can't…" He stood up, frowning at Tristan, "You! You did this!"

"Dad, it just happened," Rory said quietly, defending Tristan.

"Let's go have a talk," her father suggested, taking Tristan by the arm and dragging him away out of the diner. Rory looked to her mother, begging for help, begging her to tell her what to do but her mother just shrugged.

"Let him be," was all she had to offer, "They'll talk and everything will be fine. You know your dad, he won't harm him."

"Yeah," Rory nodded and then sat down again. She saw Jess get up and approach her, but Georgia and Liza reached her first and Liza looked up at Rory with that same questioning look from earlier.

"Mommy, who's my daddy?"

"W-what?" Rory stuttered. This was the first time Liza had actually asked Rory about her father. In the past she had asked about different guys Rory talked to, about whether they were her 'Jamie' or 'Dave', but she had never really asked about who her father was. Although she had been expecting it to come out someday, it was the last thing she expected this morning.

"My daddy," Liza repeated, growing antsy, "Georgia says that everyone has a daddy but I don't know who my daddy is."

Looking up at Jess he saw that his eyes were glued on her. He hadn't moved since Liza had spoken those five little life-changing words. She wished he would say something, but she knew he wouldn't. Jess was waiting for her to decide whether it was the right time or not. Lorelai too was waiting, offering no advice on the matter.

"Do you really want to know who your dad is?" Rory asked, drawing her daughter onto her lap. Not saying a word, Liza nodded eagerly and Rory sighed. There was no time like the present. "Look over there," Rory pointed to Jess, "You see Jess, sweetie?" When Liza confirmed her question with a yes she continued, "He's your father."

"Jess?" Liza wormed around to face her mother, "How come you didn't tell me before?"

"I didn't want to confuse you," she replied.

"Why would I be confused?" her blue eyes were filled with wonder and innocence.

"Because he wasn't around until two months ago," Rory told her.

"How come?"

"One day I'll explain," was the only answer she could give her daughter right now.

"Grams says that I'm going to get a little brother or sister soon," Liza mentioned and Rory shot her mother a look. She wasn't really upset, just surprised that her mother had mentioned it to Liza. It was probably for the best though, she would've found out anyway. "Is Jess its daddy too?"

"No," Rory shook her head; she didn't want to have to explain all those hard facts to the five year old, she wouldn't understand them. "Tristan is."

"Does that mean it's still my brother or sister?" curious as every, Liza kept tossing questions at her mother.

"Yes," Jess stepped in, seeing that Rory was tired and running out of answers to give her daughter. Liza whirled around to face Jess them.

"You're my daddy?" she asked.

"Yes," Jess nodded.

"I'm glad," Liza grinned and slipped off her mother's lap to go over and give Jess a hug. Somewhat startled, Jess returned the gesture and Rory couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two. In the two months that he had returned to Stars Hollow and discovered his daughter, had had really stepped into the shoes of a father. They seemed to fit him well too.

When Tristan and Chris returned, both were in one piece and seemed to be getting along quite famously. It didn't surprised Lorelai at all considering how alike both of them were. Sitting in her stool by the counter she watched everything unfold. Nothing surprised her anymore, not after twenty-two years of being a mother.

Lorelai knew who her daughter would end up picking, or she had a good idea of who she would pick. Rory had surprised her many times though. The first was breaking up with Dean to date Jess, the second getting pregnant and not telling Jess and then kept mounting. They newest batch of surprises included sleeping with Tristan, getting pregnant again, telling him, cutting her hair and finally telling Liza who her father was.

The biggest surprised though was how well her daughter was handling all of this. Just two days ago she had been a nervous wreck and now, watching her she looked happier. The weight of her decision still lay heavy on her shoulders but it seemed that she was going to take her time with this. Lorelai was glad too. If Rory jumped into a decision it would certainly be the wrong one and she would end up miserable. Much like Chris and Sherry seemed to.

Although, Chris' mistake led to Lorelai's happiness with the love of her life, the one man she knew she would love forever and could count on. Chris would always be her first love, but that was nothing compared to the kind of love she now shared with Luke.

Looking at her husband now, Lorelai couldn't help but smile. He had Lucas in his arms now, who had just woken up from a midmorning nap, and was skillfully refilling coffee cups of the quiet customers who had observed their fair share of Gilmore drama for the day. He was a great father to Lucas, had been a great father figure to Rory and would surely be a great father to the twins in four months time when they were born. She could not have chosen a better man to be a father to her children.

Her gaze drifting back over to her daughter and the two fathers of her children, Lorelai knew that both of them would be there for her no matter who she picked. They both loved her more than words could tell and they both would and did love their children.

"So, you sure you're ready to become a dad?" she overheard Chris asking Tristan as the two of them sat down.

"I don't know," Tristan replied honestly, looking over at Jess with Liza, Luke with Lucas and Chris himself with Georgia, "But I don't have much of a choice. Plus, I've got nine months to get ready."

"Trust me," Chris laughed, "Nine months isn't enough."

"You'll learn fast," Luke said as he passed by, "You have to."

"Plus, there's a whole instinct thing," Jess put in quietly from his spot. The three already dad nodded in agreement and both Gilmore girls glanced at each other and smiled a little. They sure had chosen quite the men, but nonetheless they were all great dads.


	16. Games of the Heart

**Family Portrait**

****

**Author's Note:** Okay, once again I made a mistake with Liza's age, so just so everyone's clear she's still four, not five. Also, I'm sorry about the spelling mistakes but since I type rather quickly I sometimes miss them, even with spell check. I read them over as often as possible and change whatever I can find but I hope it doesn't disturb you're reading much. For all of you readers, I haven't made my choice in who Rory's going to chose either, originally this was supposed to be a Literati but I've become as confused as poor Rory. I hope you all trust me enough to understand why I did what I did in the chapter. Take care and happy reading. Oh! And review telling me what you think of course.

****

**Chapter 16 Games of the Heart**

Rory and Tristan sat across from each other in the sitting room of the Dragonfly Inn. For the past hour or so the two of them had just been sitting there playing game after game of Checkers together. Needless to say the future father of her child was clobbering Rory.

"I give up!" she exclaimed finally, "You win!"

"I know," Tristan smirked, "I am the king of everything."

"No, you _were_ the king of Chilton, you are the king of being a jackass and you just might be the king of Checkers," Rory corrected him, "As for anywhere else, that has yet to be decided."

"Willing to give me a shot in one of those department?" Tristan raised a brow, "I have been supplied with a queen sized bed." Rory rolled her eyes at his insinuations and continued to put the game away neatly in its box.

"Been there, done that," she reminded him, holding back a smile. He was watching her carefully from the corner of his eyes as he continued began to help her clean up after their game.

"Well, neither of us can form opinions based on that night," he spoke up, "I mean, neither of us remember it because, if I'm not mistaken, we did have a lot to drink."

"After all we've been through in the past forty eight hours you're still the same Tristan, I'm amazed," Rory shook her head, putting the lid on the box and standing up.

"You're going to leave me all alone down here?" Tristan raised and inquisitive eyebrow.

"I'm sure you can manage," she retorted and turned to leave.

"Come on Mary," he pleaded, "At least sit down and talk with me a while longer." Rory sighed and gave into temptation. Taking her seat in front of Tristan once again. He had really been able to put her at ease since the morning they woke up his bed very naked. All the right things had been said to make her feel good. Make her feel like the old Rory Gilmore.

"Fine," Rory pretended that she had no other choice and she'd rather be elsewhere, "Just for a while."

"I knew I could charm you into staying," Smirking cockily, he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, "Not, how to get you into my room."

"How about you give up on that," Rory suggested, "Or you're going to find yourself in more pain than you've ever know."

"Why, Mary, do my ears deceive me?" Feigning shock Tristan leaned forward again, "Or are your actually implying that you are going to cause me pain."

"You know what I'm implying," she replied simply, knowing that they would both leave it at that. Never would it be voiced that temptation was slowly beginning to get the better of her. Really, even though she didn't want to, she was considering taking Tristan up on his offer. She knew he was kidding, being his old self, but Rory did want to know what it would be like to be with him not under the influence of alcohol.

After all, he had been her second and she could not remember what it had been like. She remembered clear as day what her first, and only, time with Jess had been like. The second time was supposed to be better, less painful. At least, that's what Rory had been told.

The only reason she hadn't slept with Jess again after their first night before Christmas had been because the opportunity hadn't presented itself. Someone would always walk in, or call, or they had to get somewhere quickly. Then, before she knew it, she was pushing him away.

It wasn't that she needed sex, far from it. It wasn't going to make her feel as if everything were perfect; it wasn't going to make her choice for her. She just wanted to feel something other than utter confusion for once, other than sadness.

Only after a minute did Rory realize that Tristan was watching her with a curious expression and Rory snapped out of her trance. She was being ridiculous. Tristan was actually getting to her; this was what he wanted her to be doing. It was just like she was in High School again; he was trying to get under her skin, and as usual it was working.

"You know, I think I'm actually going to go to bed," Tristan announced, standing up, "I have to drive back to Boston tomorrow morning to make it back in time for my first class."

Once more, Rory's mind whirred. There was no innuendo, no suggesting she follow. Should she assume that, if she wanted to, he wouldn't want her to come up with him? She knew that Tristan loved her just as much as Jess himself did, and he would be more than happy to have her. Maybe he had changed more than she thought he had, no she knew he had changed more than she thought. Tristan DuGray was an honest man now, an honest man who loved her and didn't want to hurt her.

"Tristan?" Rory turned as Tristan walked by her, she called out to him. Pausing, Tristan looked at her, his eyes boring into her and asking if she really wanted what she was implying just by saying his name. He knew, just by the tone of her voice what she was asking.

She didn't want to be considered a slut if she slept with him. It wasn't that she was looking for sex; it wasn't that she needed it or that she was using Tristan because of his implications earlier. Rory wanted to feel. That was all she wanted and Tristan was giving her the chance to feel. She had convinced herself of that.

If people knew what she was about to do as she stood up and took Tristan's hand she knew many would hate her. In her mind she saw their disapproving looks, the looks of disappointment, but either way it didn't matter to her. In the end, she was the one making the choice to do this now. She was the one with when it came time would chose between one of two men: one she loved more than anything in the world, one she was beginning to fall deeply in love with as well.

Things were getting so confusing as each second ticked by on the clock and no matter what Rory was going to feel and forget just for one night. She was pregnant with Tristan's child, she had given birth to Jess', and for once she wanted to do something without consequences.

Suddenly she stopped and muttered his name once more, "Tristan…"

"Rory, I know," He looked into her blue eyes once more as they reached his door. He conveyed to her in just one look his thoughts on what was happening. Once again she had underestimated Tristan DuGray, he knew that this wasn't her making her choice that this was just something she needed to do at the moment.

"Good."

"You're sure that you want this though?" he asked.

"You won't hate me for this?" she questioned in return, "Think any less of me?"

"Never," came his soft reply as he cupped her face in his hands and leaned in placing a soft kiss on her lips. It reminded her so much of the first kiss she had shared with this man back when he was just a boy back in Chilton. It was Rory's first real kiss with feeling she had experienced in what seemed like forever.

Breaking the kiss reluctantly, Tristan unlocked the door to his room and led Rory through the doorway. Before they were through though, Rory had locked lips with him once more. Adding passion and longing to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him. As he slid his arms around her waist, she kicked the door closed.

_(The Next Morning)_

Rory moaned slightly as she felt a weight lifted out of the bed, the warm body that had been pressed against hers all night was gone and she turned over and sat up slightly in bed. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes she tucked her short curly locks behind her ear and looked for Tristan.

Across the room she saw him, a sheet wrapped around him as he headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She watched him quietly from her spot on the bed, his bed. As he turned around to close the door he caught her eye and smiled. "You willing to join me for another round Mary?" he raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"What time is it?" Rory asked tiredly, holding the sheets closer to her bare chest now. Glancing to the curtained window she could see that the sun had likely just risen, or was starting to.

"Five," he replied and Rory groaned, sliding back down into bed.

"It's too early," came her muffled response.

"Well, I do have to be back in Boston this morning," he reminded her, "You going to be all right with no sexy me to warm you bed."

"You're full of yourself," Rory shot back.

"I know," he smirked, "But you weren't complaining last night."

"Go take your shower!" Rory rolled her eyes and leaned her head back into her pillow, unable to fall back asleep. She listened to the rhythmic sound of the shower, and thought about what she had just done. Surprisingly, there were no regrets at all. This was something she had thought she had to do, something she still believed she did.

Leaning over she reached for the phone and instead found a small, black book next to it. Furrowing her eyebrows Rory reached over and picked it up. She had never seen it before; it was definitely not something that was complimentary of the Inn either.

Sitting up again, she looked at the title and smiled slightly. It was a book of baby names; Tristan had probably picked it up at one of the local bookstores before coming to meet her back at the Inn. She had wondered where he had disappeared earlier the previous day. Apparently, his talk with Chris, Jess and Luke had gotten to him.

Stray strands of her new short hair fell in front of her face and Rory quickly brushed them back as she opened the book and began to look through the different baby names. With Liza, she'd never really had to. As soon as they found out she was a girl, they had known her name would be Lorelai. The Elizabeth had been a suggestion by Lane, and Luke. Although, secretly, she had always known that she would use Elizabeth for her middle name, she didn't know why though. This time it would be different; she would actually have to go through different names to decide.

Instinctively her hand went to her stomach and she wondered whether this time she'd be having a boy or another girl. No matter though, Rory knew she was going to love this child with all of her heart, already did.

A while later Tristan exited the bathroom, a towel rapped around his waist, hair damn and falling in front of his face. He winked at her and shot her a grin before pulling on a pair of boxers as he let the towel drop to his feet. Rory admired him as he dressed and when he was done, she herself got out of bed and headed for the shower.

It was standing under the hot water and washing herself off that Rory suddenly came to the realization that jumping in bed with Tristan had not made things any better than they had been, or any worse. She was still in the same predicament, had only forgotten about it for a short time. Pausing before turning the shower off, the hot water trickling down her body, she thought of Jess back at the diner.

He was probably just getting up; the early morning diner rush would probably just be starting soon. Her guess was that Luke was showing up with Liza and Lucas. Her daughter would be following Jess around as soon as he finished eating. Jess was an amazing father, already Liza looked at him as if her were some kind of superhero.

When she was done her shower and had changed, her hair curling as the air-dried it, and walked back into the room she found that Tristan was packed and ready for his return journey to Boston. For a whole week chances were she'd see neither of them, and nothing would get done.

"So, see any names you like?" Tristan wondered he held the baby name book in his hand.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, "Didn't get too far."

"This is going to be good," Tristan told her, "We're going to be good with this."

"I know," "Rory nodded.

"'I've got to go," Tristan kissed her forehead and picked up his bag, "I'll call you later."

"Alright," Rory nodded and followed him out of the room, and then watched as he walked away towards the stairs.

_(A half hour later, at Luke's Diner)_

Rory pushed open the door to the diner and looked around, it was busy as it usually was around breakfast time and many of the usual costumers were eating breakfast at their respectful tables. She searched for her mother, Jess, or Liza but none of them seemed to be there.

"Luke!" Rory approached the counter, smiling at the man behind it.

"Rory!" Luke nodded his hello.

"Where are mom and the kids?" Rory wondered.

"They went with Lane and Paris," Luke replied, quickly serving some customers coffee, "I don't know where."

"And Jess?" Rory raised a brow.

"He's upstairs," Luke called back to her, "Go on up."

"Thanks," Rory told him and quickly ducked to the stairs and climbed up to where Rory knew Jess had been staying, Luke's old apartment.

Knocking lightly on the door, Rory was told to enter. She did, slowly opening the door not sure what she should expect to find on the other side of the door. What the younger Gilmore had not expected was to find a shirtless Jess buckling up the belt on his jeans. For a good moment in time, she was unable to pull her eyes away from him, and when she finally did she looked down at her shoes and tucked her hair behind her ear. Suddenly, she felt more like a subconscious teenager than a grown twenty-two year old woman.

"Rory," Jess paused as he grabbed a shirt from off of the bed. He approached her then, pulling it over his head.

"Hi," Rory looked back up at him.

"Hi," he nodded back. What happened next was hard for Rory to explain. It was almost as if they were seventeen again, just starting their relationship. Jess leaned in and kissed her, his hand reaching for hers and their fingers tangling together.

"Hi," Rory said again once they had broken the kiss. They stared at each other for a second longer, and Rory knew that if he kissed her again she might not be able to stop. Four years of waiting, wishing for a moment like this, even though she had driven him away, had left her longing for him. The kiss was a bitter reminder of what she had given up, of how much she had always loved kissing him.

Then, he leaned in again and Rory felt all her senses fly away. Her inhibitions were gone, just as they had been the previous night with Tristan. She let out a happy sigh and let herself be completely taken over by the kiss.

To her surprised, Jess was the one who broke it. Stroking her cheek gently and his brown eyes looking down at her, "I've got to go to New York tonight."

"Oh." Suddenly, Rory felt her heart sink. He had promised her that he would never leave her again.

"I'll only be gone a week," Jess assured her, "My boss, he needs me for a couple a days. My temporary replacement quit, and he's trying to find a new one."

"Oh," was all she could manage to mutter.

"I don't want to go," Jess whispered.

"I know," she nodded slowly, and then leaned in to kiss him again.

"Rory…" Jess muttered, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Just go with it Jess," she breather. He nodded and continued to kiss her. She was surprised at how both Tristan and Jess had been able to stir her this way, how they had both somehow allowed her to let go. Her mind was so far from made up and now both men were leaving her alone for a week.

_(Late at night, at Paris and Rory's apartment)_

They had returned home not even an hour ago, and now Rory sat on the couch in the dark alone. The past twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind of emotions, and Rory still wasn't sure what she was going to do with the mess that had become her life in such a short time.

Sure, she loved Jess. Always had and always would, but now there was also a new life growing inside her to think about. A new baby and Tristan, whom with just one look, Rory knew his heart belonged solely to her.

Jess, was as every filled with mystery. She knew he loved her, but other than that she knew nothing else of his thoughts and feelings. He was an enigma that Rory knew she might never truly understand, and that was something she loved about him.

She flashed back to him saying goodbye to Liza, promising his daughter he'd be back by weeks end. It was around the four year old that Rory saw the changes in him the most; he was dedicated to be a good father to this girl. It made her regret all the more pushing him away four years ago.

Standing up, Rory headed to bed. For once she decided that she would not let her issues bother her, she would wait until tomorrow to become the confused heap she knew she would. The weight had still not been lifted off her shoulders, and until it was she couldn't truly be happy.


	17. Friday Night in Hell

****

Family Portrait

****

Author's Note: All right guys, here we go once again. I'd like to thank all of you for your reviews and I have taken everything you have all told me to heart. I'm just going to let this story go where it wants to so the pairing is still as of yet undecided in my mind, although for some reason I feel it leaning more to one side. To my reviewer KiKi: Lorelai's middle name is actually Victoria and not Elizabeth as Liza's is. Considering that Rory is pregnant I'm sure that she and Tristan will be trying to decide on baby names, as will Lorelai seeing as the twins are to be born in approximately 3 months. Rory's baby's sex is as of yet unknown to the general public, you readers, so feel free to shoot names at me if you want, I'm going to incorporate them all into the story anyway, and Lorelai is having twins, a boy and a girl. Once again thank you all for your reviews and enjoy this next chapter. As usual, please review!

****

Chapter 17: Friday Night in Hell

It had been a week filled with telephone conversations for Rory Gilmore, both men in her life called now and then. She found that Jess had learnt how to pick up a phone in the years that he had been out of her life, and Tristan was calling during his free time to kid around with her and ask her how she was feeling as each day went by. Thursday came and went, and Tristan had informed her of something important he had to go to. He would be in Stars Hollow Friday for dinner with Emily and Richard Gilmore; Rory planned on telling them her news during dinner that week. She would have the support of her mother, Luke, Paris, Tristan and her father in case anything went wrong this time around. Although her grandparents had understood when she had gotten pregnant with Liza she didn't know what to expect this time around.

Throwing open the door to her apartment Rory dropped her bag beside the door, relieved that her week was over, her last class had let out not even an hour ago. Looking up, she was shocked to see Jamie standing in the living room looking lost. The last time anyone had seen him was a week earlier at the dance marathon when he and Paris stormed off the dance floor arguing.

"Rory…" Jamie saw her; his tone was blank and distant. He looked worse Paris did, in her opinion.

"Jamie! What's going on? Where've you been?" Rory asked, rushing forward to talk to him.

"Home," Jamie responded, "With my parents. I don't know what's wrong with me Rory, why did I react like that? I love Paris, I don't want to be like this with her."

"I know," Rory nodded, "Does she know you're here?"

"No," he shook his head. Rory frowned, wondering where in the world Paris could've been. She hadn't had class with Rory today, and had stayed home with Liza instead of the sitter Rory had found when they got back to New Haven on Monday. Neither her daughter nor her best friend seemed to be present in the apartment.

"She was watching Liza today," she put in, "They probably went out. What're you going to do when she gets back?"

"I don't know," He shrugged, and then plopped down on the couch, "I just want her back Rory."

Rory offered him a small smile, "I hope you get her back Jamie. Things aren't the same without you, and she really does love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Thanks Rory."

"Anytime Jamie," she put a hand on his shoulder and then headed towards the bedroom to pack a bag for another weekend in Stars Hollow.

"Dinner with your grandparents?" Jamie wondered, and Rory turned to give him a nod. When she got to her bedroom she closed her door behind her and thought about what might happen between Jamie and Paris when she got home. She just hoped they would be able to work things out between the two of them, what they had was hard to find. Rory knew better than anyone that that was true.

Fifteen minutes later, Rory heard the door to the apartment close, and then, not a second later, Liza ran into her room and jumped onto the bed. Smiling at her daughter Rory put another shirt into her small overnight bag, and zipped it up.

"Is Jamie coming home mommy?" Liza wanted to know.

"I don't know kiddo," Rory told her daughter truthfully, there was no use lying to her. After all, she didn't want to disappoint her by telling her that he was.

"I hope he does," Liza declared, "The 'sitter's no fun at all."

"I know," Rory sat down and pulled her daughter onto her lap, kissing her forehead lightly.

"Is Jess goin' to be back yet?" Liza varied between calling Jess 'Dad' or just by his name. Rory thought it was normal though, after all she had only just found out that he was her father. It couldn't be expected that she call him dad immediately as if being used to it. She was sure it would catch on quick considering Liza was young.

"Maybe," Rory shrugged. Last time Jess had called he hadn't been sure whether or not he would be back in Stars Hollow for the weekend or not. Although he had found a new temporary replacement, he had yet to train the new guy to do his job right. For all he knew, he would only be back in Stars Hollow come Monday.

"Is Tristan coming to dinner at Great Granny and Great Grandpa?" Liza continued her interrogation; she always wanted to know everything about everyone

"Yes," Rory nodded, a small smiled appeared when she thought about seeing Tristan that night, "He's going to meet us there."

"Good," Liza grinned, "He can play with me and Georgia, right?"

"Right," Rory nodded once more, "But we've also got to talk just the adults, okay?"

"O-Kay," Liza heaved a sigh, to her any time that involved "just the adults" was the most boring thing imaginable.

There was a knock on the door and Rory stood up, going to answer it. Standing in the door was Paris; her expression was calm and much like the Paris that Rory had known a long time ago. The Paris who delegated everything with an iron fist, Rory wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a very bad thing.

"Jamie and I are going out to talk," she announced, "We still have many things to discuss before we can decide where we're going to go from here."

"So, no dinner at the Gilmore mansion then?" Rory sighed, there went one of her strongest supports. At least she still had the others to make sure that things went smooth while relaying the news of another pregnancy to Emily and Richard Gilmore.

"You know I wish I could be there Gilmore," Paris said and Rory nodded. It was more important to her that Paris and Jamie work this out than having Paris at a dinner that she was likely overreacting about.

"I'm leaving my keys on the counter," she informed Rory, "Take the car to Hartford and I'll see you when you get back."

"Take care Paris," Rory called out to her friend as she walked away, grabbing her jacket.

"You too Gilmore," Paris shot back, and then the door closed behind her leaving Rory and Liza alone to prepare for the dinner ahead.

__

(Outside the Elder Gilmore Mansion, two hours later.)

Rory pulled up to the Gilmore mansion almost five minutes late, looking herself over quickly in the rearview mirror, she got out of the car and then moved to get Liza out of the back seat. From the corner of her eye she saw Tristan's car pull into the driveway behind her.

"You're late," he pointed out, getting out of the car.

"As are you," she couldn't help but shoot back.

"Actually, I was on time," Tristan replied, joining her at Paris' car, "But I didn't want to go in without you here. I don't know if they know I'm coming or not."

"They don't," Rory mentioned, "Mom just told them to set a few extra places."

"Where's Paris?" Tristan inquired, looking around.

"Jamie showed up today," Rory explained, and that was all Tristan needed to know. He nodded as Rory then led the way to the large doors. Liza held onto her mother's hand as Rory reached out and ran the doorbell. Tristan stood close behind her and she felt some comfort knowing he was there.

"Good evening," the maid greeted, stepping aside to let them in.

"Hi!" Liza waved as Rory smiled at the maid and then headed to the living room where she knew her mother, Luke, and probably her father would be too. She was right; there they all were sitting in awkward silence. Probably waiting for them to arrive and ease the tension in the room.

"Rory!" Emily greeted happily and then went over to give her daughter a hug, "And who is this young man?"

"Why, it's Tristan DuGray!" her grandfather chuckled, walking up to them, "My you've grown up since I last saw you. I spoke to your father not long ago, told me how well you were doing in Harvard."

"You and Rory went to Chilton together didn't you?" Emily asked curiously. Rory could see a small smile behind both of her grandparents' faces. This was the kind of man they had always wanted Rory to be with, a man of high society from a rich family they were familiar with.

"Yes," Tristan nodded, shaking Richard's hand and nodding hello to Emily.

"Rory and Tristan met up at a Grocery Store in New Haven," Lorelai interjected, as Rory went over to hug her father hello.

"Is that so?" Richard asked, "What were you doing there anyway?"

"A friend of mine from Military school goes to Yale," Tristan explained, "He was having a party and invited me down. I was picking up some extra provisions when I ran into Rory."

Rory glanced at him and smiled, somewhat surprised at how he suddenly remembered her name a whole lot better when he was around her grandparents. She also felt somewhat relieved that her grandparents seemed to like him so far. It made what she had to tell them so much easier.

"So, what are you studying Tristan," Richard asked, as Emily went over to pour both of them drinks.

"Law," Tristan replied, "It's what my father wants, and I wouldn't know what else to study really."

"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll make a fine lawyer," her grandfather nodded in approval, "In fact, I'll put in a good word for you with my old firm."

"Thank you Mr. Gilmore," Tristan said, accepting the drink of champagne Emily handed him, "But I already have a job lined up for me by my father."

"Yes, Yes, I expect you do," Richard chuckled.

"Here you go Rory," Emily handed another flute of champagne to Rory.

"Can I just have some water?" Rory asked, attempting to hand the glass back to her grandmother.

"Now, don't be silly," Emily waved her hand away, "It's a special occasion. We should have a toast."

"Grandma, I really can't," Rory persisted.

"Come on Mom," Lorelai stood up, holding putting her own glass of water on the table beside her, "Give her a glass of water."

"She's old enough Lorelai," Emily refused to give in, "She can drink champagne."

"I can't," Rory muttered.

"Nonsense!" Emily exclaimed, "You're not pregnant." Rory looked down then, a move that caught both Richard and Emily's attention just then. "Oh."

"We were going to tell you," Rory spoke up, "I just found out last weekend and I didn't want to do it right now. We were going to wait until after supper…"

"We?" her grandfather raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his champagne. Emily still remained in a shocked silence.

Rory glanced over at her father and Luke, who were now standing up, then at her mother by her side, and Tristan on her other. Liza, Lucas and Georgia were at the other corner of the room, playing some game of theirs oblivious to what was going on with the adults.

"Me and Tristan," Rory looked down at her shoes then, unable to face her grandparents right now. Twice had she failed them, twice had she gotten pregnant out of wedlock and before she finished her education.

"You?" Emily finally spoke up, her gaze focused solely on Tristan.

"Yes," Tristan nodded, words eluded him now much as they did Rory.

"Emily, you know how these things happened," Christopher stepped forward, "They're never expected."

"Yes, you would know, wouldn't you?" her grandmothers shot coldly at her father. Rory wanted to disappear into the background of the room, become invisible so she wouldn't have to be standing here in this situation right now.

"Mom!" Lorelai exclaimed, "That's uncalled for!"

"It's been a long time coming!" Emily exclaimed, "That man left you and Rory, Lorelai! Then just when you were working things out he abandoned his family again because he got that stupid tramp of his pregnant."

"Mother!" Lorelai exclaimed again, "This isn't about Chris or his abandoning me and Rory! This is about Rory and Tristan and how you're about to becoming great grandparents to a second child!"

"She's right Emily," Richard stepped in, "What do you two plan on doing?"

"We're not sure yet Grandpa," Rory replied.

"How long have you two been dating?" Emily asked suddenly, her voice calmer now.

"Actually, we're not quite dating Mrs. Gilmore," Tristan responded before Rory could think up something to tell her grandmother.

"Oh, so then you're engaged?" Richard asked, amicably. They obviously liked the idea.

"No," Tristan shook his head.

"And why not?" Emily asked, the shrill back in her voice.

"Yes, yes, why not? You two are having a child together after all," Richard nodded.

"Mom, she's already had a kid and she didn't get married," Lorelai reminded her mother, "In fact she raised Liza for four years on her own."

"That's because she was eighteen and got knocked up by that hooligan nephew of your husband's!" Emily exclaimed, "This is different, she's older now. She should know the responsible thing to do is get married."

"Like I did with Sherry?" Christopher put in, "I mean, that is why I left Lorelai, to do the right thing when Sherry got pregnant, and now she's leaving me. We were unhappy the whole time we were married."

"Those were different circumstances," Emily insisted.

"How about we just listen to what Rory and Tristan have to say?" Luke suggested, speaking up for the first time since the two of them had entered the house, "Or go and eat supper so we can go home."

"I think my hubby's onto something," Lorelai agreed, "Supper and maybe a sane conversation." She turned to Luke and Christopher just then, "Why don't we go get the kids cleaned up?" With that the three adults who had once been wrapped up in a love triangle of their own led the three kids out of the room and to the bathroom.

"Grandma, Grandpa, you remember Jess right?" Rory asked, as soon as her parents and Luke were out of the room, "The hooligan who knocked me up? Well, he's back in town and he wants to be back in my life. Liza knows he's her dad and I love him, but there's a lot to think about now."

"Oh," was all either of her grandparents could muster, speechless for the second time that night.

"Tristan's going to be here with me throughout the pregnancy," Rory continued, "And he loves me. I just…I just don't know whom I love, or whom I want to be with. Can you understand that?"

"Yes, yes of course," Emily nodded. Rory heaved a sigh of relief.

"And don't worry about my grades at Yale or anything," Rory added, "This isn't going to change anything."

"Don't worry too much Rory," her grandfather said, "We don't want you stressing too much about pleasing us. You're going to do fine." Rory smiled at her grandfather and then the two of them left to the dining room leaving Tristan and Rory alone.

"That wasn't so bad," Tristan grinned, wrapping his arm around her.

"No worse than the first time around," Rory shrugged, and leaned in to him, "Let's go eat."

"Agreed," Tristan nodded, and then led her away to the dining room where everyone awaited.


	18. The Bad News Train

****

Family Portrait

Author's Note: Wow, I'm on a roll ladies and gentlemen. The ideas won't stop so I got to comply with all of your many wishes that I update as soon as possible. Plus, this might be the first multiple chapter story that I get completed. Who knows, maybe I'll even finished of (what pretty I'm sure is going to be a Lit in the end) story Tale Untold. Thank you all for the reviews and if you can think up any baby names drop them in on your review. I'll be starting with that discussion in this chapter right here…

****

Chapter 18: The Bad News Train

Lorelai Gilmore sat on the couch in the Gilmore-Danes home, her hand on her swelling belly. Now eight months pregnant with twins she often referred to herself as an elephant. Rather, whatever is larger than an elephant. A whale, that was it. A big, fat, bloated whale and she was aching for her new son and daughter to come out into the world so she may return to the world of slim.

Heaving a sigh, she tried to reach over for the chips on the table, but instead nearly rolled over onto the floor. Glaring at the bowl, she tried to will it to move closer to her so she could reach easier.

"Here," her daughter chuckled from the seat next to her, reaching over and handing it to. Rory, although three months pregnant was looking rather well. The old spark had yet to return to the eyes of the twenty-two year old, but she had greatly improved since three months ago when she had first found herself spiraling down at breakneck speeds.

"Thank you oh wondrous first born," Lorelai praised, taking a fist full of chips into her hand before Rory replaced the bowl on the table. The Gilmore women were spending some quality time alone watching re-runs of _Friends_ on DVD, and old movies. Liza lay asleep on the floor, having gotten too tired to keep her eyes open an hour earlier during the whole Rachel-Ross break fiasco.

Looking down at her granddaughter, Lorelai smiled. She was going to have another little girl to raise. "How about Lorelai?" She asked Rory, popping some chips into her mouth.

"Mom, you do realize that my name is Lorelai, right?" Rory asked her mother, taking a sip of the orange juice in her hands.

"So?" she inquired, trying to determine what her daughter's point was.

"You can't name both of your daughters Lorelai," Rory explained, "You've already passed the name on to me, and I passed it to Liza. The next Lorelai Gilmore will be Liza's daughter."

"Bah," Lorelai grumbled, "Who made up these rules."

"It's common sense," Rory sighed, and reached over plucking a chocolate bar up from the table.

"Fine," Lorelai gave in, so that was one less name that she could use. "How about I name the twins Ross and Rachel?"

"You're going to name them after characters from a TV show?" Rory raised her brow, "Mom."

"What?" Lorelai sat up, looking incredulously at her; "It would be so cool! And you can name your kid after one of them too! Phoebe or Monica or Joey or Chandler! Then, when you have more kids they'll all be named after them!"

"You're insane," Rory shook her head. Breaking the bar of chocolate and handing half over to her mother.

"Well, do you have any better suggestion?" she asked her all-knowing daughter. After eight months of pregnancy, and six months of knowing the sex of both babies, neither she nor Luke had come any closer to deciding on names for the twins.

"How about Emmalee?" her daughter offered, tucking some of her chestnut curls behind her ear, "Spelt E double M, L, double E?"

"Too close to the name of you-know-who," Lorelai vetoed, shaking her head, "Although if yours is another girl I'm sure my mother would throw a party if you named her that."

"Would naming the girl after grandma be so bad?" the younger Lorelai asked, "I mean, we love grandma."

"You love my mother," she corrected, "I tolerate her. Oh! _Breakfast Club_!"

"What?" scrunching up her nose, Rory looked at her mother as if she were insane. Glancing back at the TV she surveyed what was happening on the current episode of _Friends_.

"Let's watch the _Breakfast Club_!" Pushing herself off of the couch, Lorelai wobbled over to the DVD Player and stopped their current selection, rifling through her and Luke's collection of DVDs to find her latest craved flick.

"Mom, I've got to go," Rory was already up off the couch and heading to her jacket, grabbing Liza's while she was over and gently putting it on her daughter so she wouldn't get cold during the short walk through the light falling snow to the car.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai exclaimed, "You can't go yet! You should sleep over!"

"Mom, I can't," Rory reasoned, "Tristan is picking me up tomorrow morning bright and early for our appointment. We're finding out the sex of the baby."

"Can't he come get you here?" Lorelai begged, "It's been so long since we had a Gilmore sleep over."

"Maybe next time," Rory negotiated, "After the twins are born and you're in dire need of a break from the screaming of babies and late-night feedings."

"Fine," Lorelai pouted and went over to give her daughter a hug. She laughed at how awkward it was with her large belly, Rory's barely visible one, and Liza in between them. "Take care oh offspring of mine."

"You know I will," she called back to her as she walked out the door. Closing the door behind Rory, Lorelai went over to the window to watch her daughter put Liza in the car before getting in herself and driving off.

She had a funny feeling about this, a feeling a mother got when something bad was about to happen. Trying not to read too much into it, she went to her son's room and watched him sleep a moment. Her hand rested on her belly, rubbing it gently. In a month's time she'd be juggling raising three young kids and her adult daughter.

Her mind stayed with Rory though, waiting for her call to tell her that she was home and safe. That Liza was tucked safely into bed, Rory's or her own, and that Rory herself was crawling under the covers. As was habitual between the mother-daughter duo, they would talk until one of them could hardly keep their eyes open. Rory would tell her how Tristan had left a message on the answering machine, or how she found a note in her pocket from Jess that he'd slipped in while they were at the diner.

Lorelai wasn't sure how her daughter was dealing with her feelings for either of the young men. In fact, she wasn't sure she was dealing at all. Her daughter was confused and she could understand that. Really, she hoped that Rory would be able to follow her heart and choose who she really loved. Choose whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Raise her children twenty-four seven, and have other children with. She knew whom she thought Rory should be with, but either way she knew both young men loved her more than words could tell.

(On the Highway, Rory's car)

The snow was beginning to fall slightly heavier and Rory's vision was beginning to become more obscured. Right now she half wished she had stayed home with her mother and avoided the bad road conditions, but it was too late to turn back now. She was already half way home to the apartment in New Haven and looking forward to going to sleep in her own bed.

Glancing in her review mirror, she saw that Liza was still sound asleep. She was so much like her father; Rory had noticed that lately. When Jess slept, which was rare for Jess, he slept like a rock. Hardly anything could disturb his sleep, much like his daughter. Rory wondered if she would grow out of that phase, or whether it was something that would stick with her throughout her life.

Turning her eyes back to the road, she thought of the day that loomed ahead. Tristan was going to stop by the apartment early, and they would go for breakfast before going to the doctor so that they could find out if the baby was healthy and whether it was a girl or a boy. Secretly, Rory was hoping for another girl.

Reaching over, Rory turned up the volume of the radio a little bit more, letting the late night music fill the car. It was loud enough to be enjoyed, but not loud enough to disturb the sleeping four-year-old in the back seat. Leaning over, she found the CD she had been addicted to lately and slid it into the CD player of the car, but she was surprised when instead of a relatively new band's hit song, 'One Line' by PJ Harvey began to play instead. She chuckled to herself, realizing that Tristan must've done it the last time they were in her car together.

Letting the lyrics wash over her Rory kept her eyes peeled on the road. Then, out of nowhere she heard the squealing of tires as a bright light shone in her eyes. The last thing Rory saw was the sleeping figure of her four-year-old daughter before everything went black.

(At that same time, Tristan's Apartment, Boston)

Tristan DuGray sat in the dark kitchen of his apartment alone, waiting for the clock to change to eleven o'clock. It had become a tradition that he call Rory at this time, every second Thursday, when he knew the she would be on her way home from movie night with her mother. He knew her routine when she got home from the mother-daughter evening. She would put Liza to bed, had she come with her, and then check her messages before calling Lorelai to tell her she had arrived. He never worried about waking Paris and Jamie, he knew that the newly reunited couple expected the call and had now grown accustomed to ignoring it.

Toying with the phone in his hands, Tristan found his mind clouded over with thoughts of Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, his Mary. Sometimes, he wondered why he was waiting around for her as long as he was. Sure, she was carrying his baby but whether or not he was with her it wouldn't affect his being present in his child's life. Then, a vision of her face flashed in his mind, a snippet of a conversation he'd had with her and he remembered.

Rory Gilmore had always been the one who got away in his mind. She was the girl he knew he would never forget, she was the girl he wished more than anything would marry him. Since that first day she arrived at Chilton Tristan had found himself falling hard for the blue eyed Gilmore girl who was one of few who refused to be charmed by his good looks. He had begun to live for their witty repartee; her pretending that she hated him.

His mind drifted back to that night at Madeleine's part, a night he had dreamed of much since it happened. Her sitting down by the piano, both of them scorned by their former "lovers". Tristan could never understand why bag boy had let Rory go all because she couldn't say three simple words to him. They had kissed that night and it was everything he had imagined it would be and more, until she ran away crying.

He understood why he waited around for Rory to decide whom she wanted to be with; hell he understood why Jess was waiting around for her too. It was all about Rory Gilmore and what she managed to do to them. How she made their lives feel worthwhile when she was with them. Tristan was pretty sure he wasn't going to find another girl like his Mary anywhere. The only thing he wished was that she would feel the same about him, and that she would realize that she didn't want to be with any other man than him.

The blaring of the telephone in his hands alarmed Tristan, and he found himself nearly jumping out of his own skin. Frowning slightly, he wondered who in the world would be calling at this time. Certainly not Rory, and definitely not anyone that her knew. Getting a hold of himself he answered the phone, "Hello?"

_"Tristan,"_ it was Paris; she sounded frazzled and worried.

"Paris?" he could tell something was wrong, he felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach. _God, don't let something be wrong with her,_ he begged silently.

_"Tristan…it's Rory…"_ she told him_, "There's been an accident."_

(On the road, Paris and Jamie's car.)

Paris sat in the passenger's seat of the car, Jamie had insisted that he do the driving given Paris' state. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she stared out the window at the snow falling. The roads were bad, but Jamie was taking them slow. Already there had been one accident, but Paris had refused to stay home and wait until morning. She had to get the hospital, had to find out what was going on.

Replaying the start of the horrific night in her head, Paris continued to stare blankly out the window. She hadn't been able to sleep, not since she woke up and found the falling snow. Knowing that Gilmore was out there, likely driving home was enough to keep her up. A funny feeling at taken over and she'd gotten up and made herself coffee. For as long as she could remember, she'd been like this. Even when she was little and her parents were out late on a stormy night; she wouldn't be able to sleep until they were home and safe.

When the phone rang, Paris figured it was Tristan making his usual Thursday night call to Rory. She'd grown accustomed to leaving the phone ring since he'd first started the ritual, and so she waited until the answering machine beeped and to hear Tristan's voice. Tonight, she'd thought about answering it and talking with him awhile. Maybe just to ease the gut feeling she'd gotten waking up. Instead, she let it ring, let the answering machine pick up the call.

It hadn't been Tristan calling though. The slow, calm voice of the man on the other line haunted Paris with her word. _"Ms. Gellar, I regret to inform you that there's been an accident. Your roommate Lorelai Leigh Gilmore…" _That statement played over and over in her head. _"There's been an accident." _It was the same words she repeated to Lorelai not to second later, what she had told Tristan when she'd called him right after, and what she was sure Lorelai had told Luke, Jess, Lane and Dave.

They were all on the way to the hospital now, all on the way to find out what was happening with Rory. Paris prayed silently that her best friend was going to be all right. That poor Liza was going to be all right too. The doctor hadn't told her much on the phone, only that they'd found Rory's wallet and that this was the first number they had come across.

"_I can't tell you anything about Ms. Gilmore or her daughter's conditions. You're not family, and procedure calls that I don't divulge such information over the phone." _Those had been the kind doctor's words, and Paris wanted to scream at the man. Procedure calls, you're not family, she thought he was a real hypocrite that doctor. They were Family. Her, Jamie, Lane, Dave, they were all a part of the extended Gilmore family. How many times had Lorelai insisted on that fact? Too many to count, that was certain.

"Jamie…" Paris looked over to her boyfriend. They were working things out slowly, deciding what they were going to do with their lives. Neither of them wanted to jump right back into where they had been after the fight. She was glad he was here though, she couldn't do this without him here.

"She's going to be all right Paris," Jamie assured her, and reached over putting a hand over her own. His eyes didn't leave the road though, and Paris was thankful. Right now, she didn't want him to see her crying.

(Waiting Room at the Hospital, Hartford.)

Lorelai paced around the lobby. Nurses kept coming over to her, asking if she wanted anything, telling her to sit down and not to stress too much. "You don't want to induce labor," they kept telling her. If one more nurse approached her, she was ready to jump down their throats.

No one would tell her what was going on with her daughter and granddaughter or where they were. She guessed it was because she was eight months pregnant, there were probably rules against telling a pregnant woman bad news. Luke was off getting her coffee, prepared to break his coffee ban on her at a time like this, at a time when she was waiting to find out what had happened to her daughter. If her and her unborn grandchild, if little Liza were okay.

Jess was over by the counter, had been there ever since he had first arrived. Demanding that the nurse tell him the condition of his daughter and Rory, telling them that if they didn't tell him now he was going to go and look for them to find out himself. Lorelai watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he was getting any further in his attempts.

The feeling she had gotten in the pit of her stomach when Rory had walked out of the house still hadn't left and she finally plopped down on a chair in the waiting room and buried her head in her hands. Rory had to be all right. She just had to be.

Luke came back, putting his hand on the back of her neck and handing her a cup of freshly brewed coffee. She forced a smile, and he wiped away some of her tears. Christopher was beside him, and Lorelai wondered when he hand arrived. Putting the coffee on a table beside her, she wrapped her arms around Chris and enveloped him in a hug. She was glad he was here, it was comforting knowing that he was here for her and for Rory.

"Lorelai!" Jamie and Paris had walked into the waiting room. Paris' eyes were rimmed with red, but it was slowly fading. Lorelai's best guess was she'd cried all the way over, and now in front of all these people she was going to shut herself down.

"Any news?" Paris wondered, leaning into Jamie who had his arm around his girlfriend.

"No," she shook her head and rubbed her belly. Trying to force back the tears that were rising to her eyes now. Her daughter could very well be fighting for her life, and she had no idea.

"Tristan called while we were pulling in," Paris mumbled, "He should be here soon."

"Lane and Dave too," Lorelai nodded, sniffling, "And my parents."

Jess approached them then; apparently having gotten no where but almost kicked out of the hospital. Sighing in defeat he took a seat in on of the chairs and proceeded to stair at the doors ahead of them. "A doctor should be with us soon," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Lorelai took a seat again, taking a sip of her first real coffee in months. She wasn't enjoying it though; the hot caffeinated beverage she worshipped didn't seem as good in a hospital where he daughter had been brought in by an ambulance. A hospital where no one would tell her anything about what was going on.

Emily and Richard Gilmore appeared not a half-hour later, her mother had a jacket pulled over her nightgown, and her father wore his pajamas along with his winter coat. Obviously, at times like these appearance didn't matter. Lorelai looked down at herself, and couldn't help but agree. In fact, none on them sitting here right now had bothered to get changed. She managed a small laugh that merited her a disapproving glare from her mother.

"Well, we are a sight to see," Jamie offered. Lorelai smiled at Jamie, thanking him silently for lightening the mood a little by agreeing with her laugh. It made her feel a little better, not having things so morose.

Lane and Dave arrived alongside Tristan an hour or so later. Lane looked a mess, her face was tear streaked and Dave helped her walk along the waiting room to where their group sat. Throwing herself at Lorelai, the two women sobbed together. After all, they had known Rory longer and better than pretty much everyone in the room now. Rory had divulged many secrets with them, before any of the others.

Finally, the doctor approached the group and they all stood up watching him expectantly. The doctor looked tired and worn out, his clean white coat wrinkled and he had bags under his eyes.

"What's going on?" Lorelai demanded when he reached them, "Please tell me what's going on."

"How's Liza?" another voice shouted, Lorelai wasn't sure who it was, the voices were all the same in her mind as she waited for the doctor to tell her something, anything.

"Ms. Gilmore, and company," the doctor said, "If you would all please sit down I'd be more than willing to explain to you all what's going on. I'm Dr. Patterson, and I've been taking care of your daughter and granddaughter since they were brought in."

"Are they all right?" Lorelai asked, sitting down.

"Well, Lorelai Elizabeth, or Liza as I'm guessing you call her was sleeping at the time of the accident," the doctor began, "A drunk driver hit them, although I wouldn't be surprised with this weather if the man was completely sober. Now, Liza sustained some injuries, but mostly just scrapes and bruises. She had to have a couple of stitches though, but right now she's sleeping again. You can go see her later, but only one at a time considering visiting hours are over."

"And Rory?" Lane squeaked.

"Rory received a strong blow to her head," The doctor spoke calmly, "She was unconscious when they found her and slipped in and out on the way to the hospital. Her arm is broken, but it's not too bad. We feared there might be some internal bleeding, so we're monitoring her carefully."

"And the baby?" Lorelai glanced as Tristan as he spoke those words. She saw the fear in his eyes that the child he was already growing attached to was dead because of some stupid drunk driver.

"Right now, we're not certain what's going to happen," the doctor told them truthfully, "Until we're sure that Rory's in the clear we can't be sure if the baby's going to be all right or not. They're both stable at the time being, but if there's internal bleeding or if Rory begins to slip again they're both going to be fighting for their lives."

"But they're all right?" Chris wanted to know, "They're all right now?"

"At the time being, yes," Dr. Patterson nodded, "Rory's still unconscious though, so if any of you would like to see her you'll only be allowed one at a time. These are critical hours, if she doesn't wake up soon…"

"We know," Luke sighed, and looked down at his wife, "You want to go see her first?" She nodded and then Jess stood up.

"I want to see Liza." Dr. Patterson nodded and led Lorelai and Jess away. The rest of the group looked around at each other, they were relieved to finally have news of what was going on, but they couldn't help but worry about Rory and the baby still.

Emily excused herself to get some coffee, while Richard, Dave, and Jamie went down to find the gift shop to get some things for themselves to eat that wasn't hospital food and to get something for Rory and Liza as well.

Tristan, Paris and Lane stayed behind in the waiting room, all silently glancing at each other. Lane looked worse out of them all physically, while both Tristan and Paris struggled to keep composed. They hated to wish this on someone else, but they wished it would've. They would all trade places with Rory if they could. She did not deserve something like this to happen to her. Not after everything they'd been through.

Sticking his hand into his pocket, Tristan toyed with the velvet box he carried with him wherever he went ever since he found out Rory was pregnant. He was ready to ask her to marry him whenever she was ready to hear him, if she was ever ready to hear him. Running a hand through his hair he glanced up and saw Jess approaching them.

"How's she doing?" Lane sniffled, looking up at Jess.

"She's all right," he shrugged, sitting down across from Tristan, "She was sleeping, but she looked okay. She's got three stitches here…" Jess put his hand to the corner of his forehead, where his hairline was. "She's got some bruises but the doctor said it could've been worse had she not been sleeping."

"Do you think…" Lane trailed off as everyone's gaze shifted over onto the petite Korean girl. She was refering to Rory now, and they all knew it.

"She's a fighter," Jess responded, "She's not going to give up." Then, he looked over at Tristan, "And she's not going to lose that baby either."

"God, I hope not," Tristan breathed. Then, he sat back and waited for Lorelai to come back and tell them what else was happening. He wanted to go see her next, but he was willing to wait. After all, he had to prepare himself for what he was going to say even though she was unconscious he had heard they could still hear you.

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he didn't want to sound like an idiot doing it. The last thing he wanted was to sound like an idiot in front of Rory Gilmore.


	19. These Little Miracles

****

Family Portrait

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys, I know you're all worried about Rory and the baby but this is all for the best. Trust me, as many of you have pointed out Rory needs to follow her heart, and this was one of the suggestions on how I get her to do that. As soon as I read it I was flooded with ideas on how to do this. So, this I promise is going to be the last accident chapter, I don't want everyone to be sad and worried about Rory for too long. So, enjoy this chapter and as usual review!

****

Chapter 19: These Little Miracles

As he walked into the room, the first thing he noticed was that it seemed more colorful than it was supposed to. In the hours that had past since the news of Rory's accident had first hit the lives of her loved ones, everyone who knew Rory Gilmore was sending cards, flowers and balloons along with wishes of a safe recovery. He smiled slightly, she would know how much they all loved her and were worried about her the minute she woke up.

Sitting down, he pushed the chair closer to the bedside and took her hand in his. She lay flat on her back, her broken arm in a cast and lying gently at her side. She had a cut on the side of her forehead that had been patched up by the doctors when they had first brought her in. There were a few other visible cuts and bruises from the breaking windshield shattering. She looked more fragile and delicate than Tristan had ever seen her in his life before.

He had waited through the visits of Lorelai, Christopher, Emily, Richard, and Lane before Paris finally insisted that he put his mind to rest and go see her. Claiming that she couldn't go and see Rory unless she knew that he looked a little less worn with worry. Although he strongly doubted that it was true, he had thanked Paris and went ahead to come and see Rory.

Holding back tears, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and reached to place a hand on her belly. The doctors had said that she and the baby were both all right at the moment, and that so far there had been no complications. Still, they were fighting for their lives. If Rory didn't wake up soon, chances were they wouldn't survive. That the baby would die.

"Come on Mary," Tristan whispered, "Don't give up on us. We need you, and the baby needs you to wake up." He got no answer, and it wasn't like he expected to. It hurt watching her lie so still like that, to not have her correct him calling her Mary or to shoot back some snark remark or to have some sort of witty banter with her.

Standing up, he almost left, but looking down at her once more he couldn't bring himself to walk out of the room just yet. Not when he didn't know when the next time he would see her would be. What if she woke up? He wanted to be the first thing he saw, wanted to be able to tell her how much he loved her and how she had to continue to fight until the doctor's said they were safe. That her and the baby were going to be all right.

"Mr. DuGray?" he turned to find a young nurse standing in the doorway, her long blonde hair tied back. She looked at him with uncertain green eyes.

"Y-yes," Tristan squeaked, finding his words again. He let go of Rory's hand and stood up straight and tall, turning to face a nurse who under different circumstances he would've hit on had he been his old self.

"Ms. Gilmore…Mrs. Gilmore-Danes told me that you were in here…" the nurse trailed, she seemed nervous talking with him. For a second, Tristan felt his stomach churn, silently praying that she didn't come bearing more bad news. "The doctor got some test results back. About the baby."

"What about the baby?" Tristan hesitated slightly before speaking, not sure whether he really wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Well, he got in contact with Ms. Gilmore's gynecologist to find out about Rory and the baby and how they'd been faring over the last three months," the nurse explained, "Just in case there were any…complications." Pausing a moment she stepped forward and handed handing him a folder with some papers inside.

"What are these?" Tristan asked, confused by the whole situation.

"W-well, despite obvious circumstances," she motioned to the bed where Rory lay, "The baby is…was…is healthy, and while running tests when they first brought her in the results on the sex of the baby are in there too." She shrugged, "If you wanted to know what it was…"

"Thanks," Tristan nodded distractedly as he looked down at the papers. A lot of it was stuff he didn't understand. Doctor gibberish really.

"Do you want to?" the nurse asked, and Tristan noticed the nametag she had on for the first time. Her name was Lia. Tristan knew that it was a Greek for bearer of good news. He had been reading various sources of baby names and their meanings. "Know the sex that is," she added after Tristan didn't answer.

"Yeah," Tristan nodded, feeling almost reassured as if her name was a sign that everything was going to be fine. "How can you tell?"

"Here," she walked over and pointed to something on the paper in the folder, "It's a girl."

"I-I have a daughter?" Tristan asked in wonderment. He was going to have a little girl. He thought to Liza, and smiled. This was good; he was going to have a daughter.

"Well, you're going to have a daughter," the nurse, Lia, laughed slightly, "When she's born."

"If she's born," Tristan mentioned breaking the merry mood the news had put him in. Lia put a hand on his shoulder and Tristan glanced at her. She seemed young to be a nurse, a couple of years older than he did probably. Likely just out of school and starting her first job.

"She will be," she tried to assure him, "They've made it through this much, now all she has to do is wake up." Then, offering him another smile she was gone to take care of other things.

Tristan sat back down and took Rory's hand again, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "You hear that Mary?" he asked, "We're going to have a daughter, a little girl. Now, all you have to do is wake up."

He sat watching her a little while longer but couldn't bear to tell her how much he loved her. Afraid that if he did, he might lose her forever. After a while longer he finally got up and left, so Paris could come and see her best friend for a little bit.

On his way back to the waiting room, he wandered off and stopped by Liza's room. Jess was with his daughter, who was sitting up in bed dressed in clothes that somebody had brought by the hospital for her a while ago. They doctor's were going to give her another check-up to decide whether they were ready to let her check out of the hospital.

The four-year-old looked to be in the middle of a big story, seemingly unfazed by the accident. The medics had done a good job reassuring the little girl everything was okay when they had found the sight of the accident and the hysterical Liza calling for her mother to wake up. They pampered her and gave her chocolate and told her that her mommy was going to be all right, she had just banged her head.

Jess was doing a pretty good job keeping his daughter in good spirits too. Tristan watched them, and hoped that he would get the chance to raise his daughter. That he would be able to see her as a four-year-old, and be able to calm her fears. He watched them, and saw just how much he really wanted Rory and their baby to be okay. Although he hadn't been sure if he was ready to be a father before, he was sure as anything ready now. He wanted this.

"Tristan!" Liza spotted him standing there, and Jess turned around and nodded hello to him.

"Hey," Tristan greeted the four-year-old, stepping in, "Feeling okay?"

"My head hurts lots and lots," she told him, "But I get to have all the ice cream and candy and chocolate I want." Then she pointed out the balloons and candies in her own room, "And look what people gave me! Lotsa balloons!"

"They're cool," Tristan admitted, poking one with his finger as it swayed back and forth in the air.

"Did you get to go see mommy?" Liza wondered, looking up at him with her big blue eyes speckled with brown, "No one will let me go see mommy."

"I just came from seeing her," Tristan mentioned, glancing at Jess.

"Is she and my baby brother or sister okay? The people in the big ambulance said she hit her head and can't wake up right now," Liza explained, "Did mommy wake up yet?"

"Not yet," he shook his head, "But the doctors said that her and your little sister are okay right now."

"I'm gonna have a little sister?" this seemed to excite Liza and Tristan nodded.

"Congratulations," Jess mention, and Tristan nodded thanks to the man he was estranged from. They had little in common except Rory and an old hate for Dean, and it was hard to become friends with a man you were competing with for the love of a girl.

"Hey boys," Lorelai's voice floated in from the door, "Playing nice?"

"Always Lorelai," Jess said, standing up.

"Good, now get your butts out and let me spend some time with my granddaughter," she ordered and hurried the boys out of the room.

(The Waiting Room, an hour later.)

After she had visited Rory, Paris had gone back to the Gilmore-Danes home and taken a shower and gotten changed upon Lorelai's orders. She had thrown some clothes in a bag in the rush to get the hospital, and she felt slightly refreshed as she entered the hospital waiting room once more.

The doctors were beginning to worry slightly about Rory. She had been unconscious most of the night, and had awoken for two minutes at one point when the doctor's were checking up on her. They said she'd opened her eyes but quickly slipped back into her coma. Apparently, she had hit her head harder than they had thought, and continued to monitor her carefully.

She spotted Tristan, Jess, and Lane sitting quietly around the waiting room. Tristan and Lane both held steaming cups of coffee in their hands whereas Jess had a child's book. It was then that she noticed Liza sitting next to her father, swinging her legs as she listened to him read her a story. It relieved Paris to know that the doctor's had deemed Liza fit to be checked out.

"Any news on Gilmore?" Paris wondered, joining them. She looked around for Jamie, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Not yet," Lane heaved a sigh, tears threatening to erupt once more. It was then Paris noticed that Dave was missing as well as Lorelai and Luke. Not all of them could be visiting Rory, and she was sure that Lorelai was the one sitting with her daughter now. Chris was probably with her, the doctors were allowing both parents to be in the room at the same time, and she guessed Luke was at the diner. Maybe getting food for all of them.

"Daddy," everyone's attention turned to Liza, "I'm hungry."

"Luke's going to be back with food," Jess told his daughter, running a hand through his hair. Paris' best guess was that it was the hundredth time that Jess had had to answer that question.

"How about we take her to Luke's instead?" Dave asked, coming up alongside Jamie. They had a bag of candies in their hand and Dave popped one in his mouth. "The car's all loaded with Liza's balloons and stuff. We were going to bring them back to Lorelai's."

"I'll come," Lane decided, standing up, "I need to get out of here a bit. Take a shower."

"Good idea, you're beginning to stink" Dave joked, taking her hand as Lane swatted him lightly on the shoulder.

"So, you want to go with them to see Luke?" Jess asked, and when Liza nodded Jamie went over and scooped the four-year-old up in his arms.

"You coming Paris?" Lane wondered.

"No, just got back," Paris pointed out, "I'm going to stick around, maybe visit Gilmore again when Lorelai and Christopher come back out."

With that the three of them, and Liza left the hospital. Paris turned back to Tristan and Jess, who put down the kid's book he had been reading to Liza. "You guys want anything in the cafeteria?" Paris asked, "I'm going to get a bag of chips or something."

"I'll come," Tristan stood up and threw his empty coffee cup as well as Lane's in a nearby garbage.

"Me too," Jess nodded, standing up. The trio headed to the cafeteria and ended up sitting down at a table as they each had a bag of chips and a coke. Right then, they didn't want to head back to the waiting room just yet, they had seen enough of it throughout the previous night and that day to last a lifetime.

When they were done, Jess headed back to get a chocolate bar for Lorelai when she came out and Tristan and Paris headed to the door of the cafeteria. As Tristan stopped to throw out their garbage an all too familiar voice sent shivers down Paris' spine. "Paris?" the voice called out, "Paris Gellar."

Slowly, Paris turned to face none other than Louise Grant in all her glory. She looked the same as she had when Paris had last seen her four years ago, her blonde hair a little longer and more layered than it had been then. Next to her was her partner in crime Madeline Lynn, black hair chopped to her ears. "Louise," Paris said, mouth dry, "Madeline."

"Oh my god," Madeline said excitedly, "We thought it was you! Didn't we?"

"Yeah," Louise nodded in agreement, "Been a long time. What're you doing here?"

"Paris…" Tristan walked up behind her and stole the attention away from Paris' two old friends. They were both looked at the King of Chilton with looks of interest. Looks tigers gave their next prey.

"My, my, look who we've got here," Louise smirked slowly, "If it isn't Tristan DuGray in all of his glory. What're you going here with our good friend Paris?"

"I could ask you two the same thing," Tristan chuckled, "Not exactly the scene I'd see you two in."

"Madeline's fiancée had a bit of an accident invovling hand cuffs, glue, and a whip" Louise mentioned, "Plus, what better place to find good looking, rich doctors?"

"Rory got into an accident," Paris told her old high school best friends, the girls who had everything and wanted more. Really, Paris never understood why they were her friends, or what she saw in them. They had always followed her every order; she had been their leader.

"Rory Gilmore?" Madeline looked stricken by the news, "What happened?"

"A car accident last night," Tristan said, running a hand through his hair and glancing over at Jess who was quickly approaching them.

"Wow, is she going to be all right?" the raven-haired girl asked, seemingly concerned about the condition of a girl she hadn't seen in four years.

"We don't know yet," Paris replied, "She's still in a coma."

"That sucks," Louise breathed, and then caught sight of Jess as he joined them, "Who's the hottie?"

"Jess," Paris informed the blonde, "You remember, the guy who Rory dated that last year in Chilton after her and Dean broke up."

"The guy who got her pregnant?" Madeline asked incredulously.

"The one and only," Paris nodded.

"Wow, Rory did good," Louise muttered her approval, still watching Jess carefully. It seemed that Louise was still the same old Louise, and the same went for Madeline. Although, Paris was surprised to hear that her friend was engaged. Probably for money, she decided.

"Well, it was great running into you," Paris lied, before walking away with Tristan and Jess in tow. Meeting them reminded her of her past, and how a long time ago she used to make Rory's life a living hell. She regretted it now. Regretted giving Rory such a hard time just because she had been threatened by her. She didn't think she had ever apologized to Gilmore for it.

(Luke's Diner, some time later)

Jess couldn't bring himself to go and see Rory again after that first time. He couldn't bear to look at her lying in that hospital bed, and couldn't see that cast on her arm without thinking of that first time she had sprained her wrist. It had been his fault then, he had made her go out, and had made her let him drive that car.

He remembered how he had left her once he had made sure she was safe at the hospital, and remembered when Luke had made him get on that bus and go back to New York because of it. Then, she had showed up one day after skipping school and taking the bus to New York.

There were so many memories of Rory Gilmore, and so many memories of him hurting her. He had caused her a lot of pain, and he knew he had been the cause of the Rory-Dean public breakup at the dance marathon. Not that he regretted that, that was something he was and always would be proud of. Dean didn't deserve Rory. Jess wasn't quite sure that he did either.

A part of him couldn't help but blame himself for what was happening to Rory right now. He had had nothing to do with the accident, he knew that but still he felt some guilt about it. Guilt that he couldn't explain.

Remembering the last time he had spoken to Rory, as he cleaned up the diner having forced Luke to let him take over so he could go and be with Lorelai at a time like this. They had shown up at the diner the previous afternoon for burgers before movie night. Usually, he would slip a note in her pocket, but last night he hadn't. The diner rush had been too packed and the Gilmore girls had left too quickly for him to manage. She had given him a smile, and shared a few words when he managed to find some time. They'd had their usual banter, and she had asked if he would watch Liza while she and Tristan went to their appointment.

Jess wondered whom she would end up being with. Looking at how things had turned out with Lorelai, it struck him how similar their situations were. Sometimes, when he looked at the way things turned out he thought of himself as the "Chris" character in all of this. Rory's first "real" love, and the father of her first kid at eighteen. It worried him that things would turn out much like they had for Lorelai, and that Tristan would end up her "Luke".

He loved Rory Gilmore with all of his heart, and he knew that she loved him too. Jess didn't know if this was the kind of love that her mother still had for her father, or if this was the kind of love Lorelai Gilmore and his uncle shared to this day. He didn't fancy himself a romantic, far from it really. When he looked at how Chris still looked at Lorelai, he couldn't help but feel he would end up the same way. Perpetually in love with a girl he could never have.

Looking over at his daughter sitting at a nearby table with Dave drawing a picture he couldn't help but feel lucky that he had her. She was going to grow up, and Jess was going to make damn sure she didn't make the same mistakes as he had in his life. That was one thing he was sure of.

(The Hospital, Rory's Room)

Lorelai had watched as her daughter lay motionless for what seemed like forever. Chris was sitting beside her, holding her hand and every once and a while giving her a reassuring squeeze. She knew it was equally hard for him to be sitting there, having to leave Georgia with Michel and Sookie at the Inn because he didn't want her here at the hospital. Lorelai herself had left Lucas with her friends at the Inn. She and Luke needed to be here right now, needed to be here for Rory and the others.

Her eyes were beginning to play tricks on her. If she stared at Rory long enough she could almost see her eyes twitch, or her head move, or even her arm. It wasn't true though; Rory lay motionless and soundless on the hospital bed as she had ever since the nurses had first put her there. The doctors moved her when they gave her check-ups and put the IV in to feed her, they monitored her well and so far there were no signs of internal bleeding. All Rory needed to do was wake up and everything would be fine.

Putting her free hand on her stomach, she looked over at her daughter's own and said a silent prayer for her unborn granddaughter. Tristan had taken her aside earlier and told her the news. Lorelai was happy, but this wasn't the way she had wanted to find out. Her mind flashed to the first time, and she remembered how happy and crazy she had been. Things had changed so much.

"Lor…" Chris' voice came in a whisper, and Lorelai turned to look at him. Her first love, the father of her little girl who was lying so still in the bed in front of them. He looked worse than she had ever seen him. She studied his expression for a second.

"I know," she nodded, and looked back to her daughter, "I just…I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave in case…"

"I know," Chris whispered again, "But you have to eat. You've got the twins to think about too."

She knew he was right, as it turned out Chris had been right about a lot of things in the past day or so. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised; Chris was right about almost everything going on lately. He had grown wise beyond his years they had joked.

Glancing back at her daughter, and watching her in silence a minute longer she grudgingly stood up and allowed Chris to lead her out of the room, but not before stealing one more glance at her baby girl. If Rory wasn't all right, Lorelai didn't know what she would do. It was Rory that had kept her going all those years ever since she had become pregnant with her at sixteen. She couldn't lose her.

_(Same Place, fifteen minutes later)_

Tristan had taken Lorelai's spot once she and Chris had come out of the room and went to get something to eat. They must've been starving, he noted, being in the room for so long. Once again, he had taken Rory's hand in his own this time holding it with both of his hands. His breathing was loud and shallow and he was finding it increasingly harder to keep his composure.

"Rory, I love you," he whispered, for the first time he really voiced his feelings to her. It felt freeing, almost. "God, I've always loved you." He paused and looked at her, waiting to see if maybe he'd get some sort of reaction. Nothing, but he hoped she could hear him nonetheless.

He let got of her hand and reached into his pocket, taking out the baby name book from it. Now, there were numerous different post-its sticking out from different pages. Some were pink, others were blue, and some were yellow. A neutral color for names that he felt would work no matter the sex. He pulled out the blue ones; they didn't matter anymore now that he knew the baby was a girl.

"I've been thinking of baby names," he told her, "Lots of them. I'm looking forward to this Mary, really I am. So, I thought about naming her Mary?" He chuckled lightly, he could imagine what her reaction would've been, "Then I figured you'd be against it. Besides, it appears that Mary means bitter." He paused, "Not that you're bitter Mary, far from it. There's only one Mary in my life..."

He wished she would wake up, wished that he wasn't having a one sided conversation with her unconscious form. The doctor's told them that she could probably hear them, so he thought it might be worth a shot. "So, how about Juliet? Or Haley, I've always liked that name."

Then, the incredible happened. He hear a soft moan coming from her bed, and her eyes fluttered open revealing the crystal blue eyes that had haunted him from the day he met her. A small smile appeared on her face, although he saw that it seemed to hurt her to move. Reaching out, he took her hand again and whispered her name, "Rory."

"Haley," she said, her voice was hoarse and barely audible even though he heard her loud and clear, "Haley Juliet Mary DuGray Gilmore."

"Long name," Tristan laughed, so happy to hear her voice again, to know that she was all right and awake.

"It's perfect," she half smiled.

"How come Haley?" he inquired, not wanting to call the doctors and ruin this moment right away.

"It means hero," she told him, and it surprised him how she already knew this, "And this little girl is my hero. Plus, it's a pretty name, always liked it." Tristan laughed again and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"I love you," he told he, he had to say it to her directly when she was looking at him with those big blue eyes of hers.

"I know," she nodded, even though he knew she found it hard after being unconscious for so long, "I love you too Tristan."

He didn't know what it meant, or if this was he way of choosing or if she was just saying it because she was happy to be alive and awake. It didn't matter to him right now though, Rory Gilmore was awake and for once he felt sure that things were going to work out for the best. Hearing her say those three words to him took all his fear of losing them away.


	20. Proposals

****

Family Portrait

Author's Note: Despite what it may seem in the last chapter, Rory still hasn't made her choice. I think I have though. I appreciate all of your reviews, and although they're not making my life any easier with finishing this story they're giving me the inspiration I need to continue. I hope despite what 'ship it ends up being you all will continue to read.

****

Chapter Twenty: Proposals

After two horrendous weeks spent in the hospital with doctors running tests on her and her unborn baby Rory Gilmore was finally let out. Needless to say, she was relieved. The last thing she had wanted was to spend another day away from Liza, away from school, and in the stupid hospital. She swore that if she never saw the white walls of the building again it would be too soon.

With one arm she carried some of the remaining balloons and gifts she had received from friends and family over her stay, her other arm occupied with the cast. Her mother and Lane were gladly helping her move out of the hospital and back into the Gilmore-Danes home for the weekend, afterwards she would be allowed to go home to New Haven and return to Yale. She had tried to convince them that she would be all right to head back right away, but no one would hear her argument.

"Okay, so I was thinking we can watch _The Godfather_ tonight," Lorelai had been talking at Gilmore speed since she had arrived in the hospital. Truthfully, Rory hadn't been paying much attention to her mother's rambles. "We can have lots of chocolate and coffee, because Luke loves us too much to deprive us anymore, and then if you're tired we can call it an early night, or we could watched _The Godfather 2._ How's that sound?"

"Great," Rory nodded, distracted by her own thoughts.

"You're not listening!" Lorelai pouted.

"I'm listening," Rory assured her mother, "I'm just trying not to drop anything as I press the elevator door."

"Oh!" Lane jumped from where she's been quietly standing by the two Gilmore girls and pressed the button, "Sorry."

"It's okay," Rory shrugged, "Where've you been? Mom thinks I'm distracted but you're way out on Mars."

"Oh, it's just Dave and I set a date," Lane shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it.

"Really?" Rory smiled, happy for her friend. For the first week of Lane's visits they had talked about how she was feeling, what she was going to do about Tristan and Jess, and about her and Dave's engagement and when they were planning on getting married.

"So, when is it?" Lorelai pressed, anxious to get underway with helping Lane to prepare for the ceremony.

"Well, we were thinking about a Spring Wedding," Lane began, "But then we thought about Rory and the fact that she's going to be seven or eight months pregnant by then."

"Lane, it doesn't matter," Rory pointed out, "I mean either way I'm going to be at the wedding."

"Yeah, but I want you to be maid of honor and I want you to feel pretty and not like an elephant or anything," Lane explained, and Rory was forced to remember how big she had been when pregnant with Liza at eight months.

"Point duly noted," Rory nodded.

"So, the pending date is September 28," her best friend announced, "I figured it's the perfect time, what with the leaves changing and everything."

"I think it's perfect," she smiled, not being able to look at Lane without being drawn into her excitement. The petite Korean girl was glowing with radiance at the mention of the wedding, and Rory felt giddy just thinking about it. This was the day Lane had been waiting for forever, even more so since she had started to date Dave. It surprised Rory had sure Lane had been that he was the one for her almost since the beginning.

The three women stepped into the elevator and Lane pressed the floor number. They stood in silent, each with their own things on their mind now. Thinking about Lane and Dave had allowed Rory's mind to wander back to Tristan and Jess and what she was going to do about them. She had told Tristan she loved him, and she did, but she wasn't sure what kind of love it was. What it meant.

Leaning back against the wall of the elevator, Rory shifted what little of the stuff her mother and Lane had allowed her to carry so that it wouldn't fall on the floor. Tristan had wanted to be there when she checked out of the hospital, but she had insisted that she go back to the school and that she'd see him on Friday. It was no use for him to miss more class than necessary only to have him need to make it up later on. He needed to graduate and he needed to be attending school in order to do so.

"Rory, sweetie, you're going to have to be a bit more talkative or we're going to have to march right up stairs again and check you back in!" Lorelai ordered her; "On the pretense that they switched you with some Rory-clone who is definitely not as good as my daughter!"

"Yeah, you were all talkative in the hospital," Lane admitted, "And now your back to somber broody Rory who reminds me a lot of Jess when he first came to Stars Hollow."

"Oh! Or Luke pre- um...well, Luke in general on most occasions," Lorelai chirped, "Especially when it has anything to do with Stars Hollow events."

"Or Paris!" Lane added, the two getting wrapped up in their game of naming different broody characters in which Rory is acting in a similar manner to.

"Ok, ok, got the point," Rory heaved, and the stepped out of the elevator pausing a moment as her mother and Lane caught up to her. Dave greeted them at the entrance to the hospital, who quickly grabbed anything that Rory had in her hand and shoved it into his car. "Thanks," Rory held back a laugh. Everyone was treating her as if she were made of glass.

"Alright, my car oh darling daughter," Lorelai commanded, leading Rory over to the updated Range Rover Lorelai and Luke had purchased two years ago, right before Lucas was born. Rory managed small wave of goodbye to Lane and Dave, although she would see them soon, before she was practically shoved into the car by her mother.

"Need I remind you a certain daughter of yours was in a car accident?" Rory said once her mother was seating in the driver's seat.

"Oh no!" the older woman exclaimed and then put her hand on her stomach and looked down at it, "Are you all right oh nameless child?"

"Funny mom," Rory rolled her eyes and then pulled her purse onto her lap, which she had managed to hold onto with Dave and her mother grabbing everything from her the minute she picked it up. "Speaking of the nameless twins," she pulled out the name book Tristan had given her, "Since me and Tristan already picked out the name for our daughter, I thought you and Luke could use this."

"Thank you honey," Lorelai smiled as she started the car and took the book from Rory. Flipping through all the pages and putting it on her lap. "I'll be sure to look through that with Luke," she assured her, "But hey, I was thinking…"

"Mom, you can't name either of them after the Beatles, or any other band or television characters," Rory sighed, "And last names are out too."

"You suck," Lorelai pouted as she pulled out onto the road.

"Wait! Go back!" Rory had suddenly remembered something very important she had planned on doing before leaving the hospital, something that even though she hated the idea of going back she had to do.

"Why?" her mother was clearly shocked by her daughter's request, she too had seen too much of the hospital in her lifetime.

"There was this nurse," she tried to explain, "And when you guys were all gone she came in to talk to me. I know she knew I was leaving, I just wanted to say goodbye and thank her."

"That's my girl," Lorelai chuckled, and then turned around to go back to the hospital. When they pulled up in front of the door, she raised a curious brow, "Want me to come in?"

"No," Rory shook her head; "I have to do this alone." Offering her mother a reassuring smile, she got out of the car and headed into the hospital.

(Inside the hospital.)

Getting out of the elevator on the floor she'd spent the majority of her time since she had woken up that fateful afternoon, she look around carefully. Surveying the waiting room, she saw no sign of the familiar nurse who had become a friend to Rory over the two weeks.

"Rory?" a voice that Rory had not heard since high school rang out through the hallway. Looking up, she saw Madeline Lynn standing there looking at Rory with a small, giddy smile. Vaguely, Rory remember Paris mentioning running into her old high school friends the day Rory had woken up.

"Madeline," a small, genuine smile appeared. Although Paris, Madeline, and Louise had made her life at Chilton a living hell for the first couple of years, Rory had always liked to girl who would forget to me mean and rude to Rory. She was a funny one.

"We heard you were in an accident," the raven-haired girl told Rory, stepping towards her as Louise appeared, stepping out from a room. The blonde observed Rory quietly as Madeline spoke. "Are you alright?" she questioned, "Paris said you were in a coma."

"We're fine," Rory said, without thinking she spoke of both herself and baby Haley, "The doctor's released me today."

"We're?" Louise, always the one to catch onto the little things raised a brow, "You and Liza right?"

"Actually, I'm pregnant again," she mentioned, she saw no reason to hide it from the girls. After all, if they looked closely enough they would be able to see the small lump that was her belly.

"Really?" Madeline seemed to take this as good new, "I'm engaged. That's why we're here, my fiancée came in for a check-up after his "accident"."

"Really?" Louise mimicked her best friend, "Is that hunk Jess the father again?"

"No," Rory shook her head; she wasn't quite prepared to tell these strangers of her past who was though. Afraid it might draw up some unwanted memories from High School. Memories that she didn't quite want to relive at the time being.

"Oh," Madeline seemed unrattled by the news, much like Rory had expected her too. Louise, on the other hand, regarded Rory with interest, as if she had just discovered something surprising in her. "Do you know the sex yet?"

"Yeah," the brunette nodded, "It's a girl." With a small smile, she said more to herself that to the two women in front of her, "Haley Juliet Mary DuGray Gilmore." No sooner than the name was out of her mouth, did she want to take back telling them.

Now, Louise's expression had changed to one of keen interest, a look that Rory had recognized from when the young blond had discovered a new piece of juicy gossip to spread around. Madeline, on the other hand, seemed to still be putting the pieces together.

"Mary and Juliet sound like something you and Tristan would name your kids if you ever had one," she mentioned. Then, realization dawned on her face, "Oh."

"She's still a tad slow," Louise mentioned. Looking between the two now, Rory couldn't help but be surprised that Louise wasn't engaged as well. "Guess we're going to have to dig out the old betting pool again," she sighed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "Wonder who won."

"You had a pool?" Rory furrowed her eyebrows, confused and somewhat startled.

"Yeah, there was a pool going around to see how long it would take Tristan to finally bag you," Madeline explained, "Paris' idea. We put you don't for when hell freezes over. Which means you owe twenty. What was the exact day anyway?"

"Unbelievable!" Rory shook her head, walking away from the two of them. She knew it was just a juvenile game they had started in high school. Obviously, Madeline and Louise still thought in high school years, but Rory knew that Paris had matured past her hate Rory stage. Yet, she couldn't help but feel slightly angry about it.

(Back in Lorelai's car)

Rory slammed the door as she got into her mother's car. Lorelai watched her daughter carefully. Obviously confused as to what had made her daughter go from the good mood she had been in, to this dark one. Starting up the car, Lorelai pulled away from the hospital and onto the highway. Once they were well away on the highway did Lorelai finally speak up; "Did you find the nurse?"

"Yeah," Rory nodded distractedly, "She promised she'd make sure she was the nurse in charge when Haley was born."

"That's nice of her," her mother said. When Rory nodded, still not giving Lorelai any hint as to what was wrong, she figured there was nothing else to do but ask. "Did something happen in there?"

"I ran into Louise and Madeline," was her daughter's curt response. Lorelai didn't know what else to say to her daughter just then. She stole another glance at her. Rory had kept her hair short over the last three months, and in curls. It suited her well. Heaving a sigh, Lorelai decided she would just have to wait until Rory decided she wanted to talk about whatever it was. "They found out about Tristan and Haley. Then, they said something about a poll Paris started on how long it would take Tristan to get me in the sack," she admitted finally.

"Rory..." Lorelai said slowly. She didn't want to get her anymore upset than she seemed to be already. It surprised her though, that something like this would upset her.

"What?" Rory snapped, "It was just a stupid kid's game? Did you guys have a betting pool when Jess came to town and I was friends with him? How long until he breaks the perfect Stars Hollow couple up? Or how long until Jess leaves me brokenhearted? Did you mom?"

"No," Lorelai was taken aback by her daughter's accusations and anger. Had this been something building up for a while, this anger and resentment she seemed to have?

Finally, Rory took a deep breath and buried her face in her hands. After a moment, she looked back at her mother. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, "It's just…I was just…"

"I know," reaching over she put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, offering a smile before turning back to the icy January roads.

"Why didn't Jess come?" she wanted to know after a moment, "Did he go back to New York again and not tell me?"

"He was with Liza," Lorelai told her.

"Luke could've watched her," Rory pointed out, "I thought he would've taken a break, come and see me out. He said he would whenever he came to visit."

"Jess doesn't like hospitals." Rory frowned, it sounded as if her mother was covering for Jess for something or other. It wasn't like her mother to do that, especially not for Jess.

"So, Sookie having a big dinner tonight?" the younger Gilmore wondered, changing the subject.

"Yeah, she's over at the house cooking now, probably driving Luke insane too," at that Lorelai grinned.

"Sounds great," Rory grinned. Then, her attention shifted outside of the window of the car. The white covered fields, the icicles and harsh January wind. It occurred to her how immature it had been to freak out over the old betting pool, after all, she remember how things had been in high school between Paris and Tristan. They weren't always on the best of terms.

They had been teenagers, and teenagers who were in competition constantly at the prestigious private school that was Chilton. Paris felt her position in the school was threatened, Tristan had seen her as another piece of meat. So, it was obvious that there would be some sort of bet going on. She couldn't understand why it had affected her so much though.

Maybe she was trying too hard to make her teenage crush on Tristan turn into something more. To turn into a love that challenged hers for Jess because she was afraid to go back to him. It seemed that she was trying too hard to turn what she had once felt for Tristan in the past, to the kind of love that rivaled Lorelai and Luke's.

It was quite possible that Rory had been looking at the idea of her relationships with both men wrong all along. She had been comparing then to her mother's own, when really; they couldn't be compared at all. Her mother made choices in her life that got her to where she was today, and Rory would have to make her own. Neither of the men were her "Chris" or her "Luke" or even her "Jamie" or "Dave". When she finally figured out which one of the men she wanted to be with, they would be making their own path. She couldn't continue comparing because it got her nowhere.

(The Gilmore-Danes Residence)

Rory sat in her old room, on her laptop. She was finding it increasingly hard to do any work on her newly received assignment with one hand in her cast. Heaving a sigh, she continued to try and one hand type instead. She couldn't remember how she had managed with the bad sprain the first time around.

There was a knock on the front door and she could vaguely hear the commotion her mother and Luke were causing. Luke ordering Lorelai to stay seated, her mother complaining that she could answer the door. Sookie and Jackson were discussing the various foods that she was making, and Lane, Dave, Jamie, and Paris still had not arrived back at the house. Rory had a sneaking suspicion that Tristan would probably show up at the dinner tonight too.

Preparing to go off and join her welcome back home dinner party, Rory's eye caught sight of the date on the computer screen. A date that she tried to ignore thinking of every year, the day that she had broken Jess' heart and a piece of her own when she pushed Jess away. That was why he hadn't shown up at the hospital. He knew what day it was too.

"Rory, come on!" Lorelai shouted, opening the door.

"Coming," Rory mumbled. A horrid feeling in the pit of her stomach rose and she didn't know if she was really in the mood to celebrate anything on this day. Turning around, she saw Jess standing in the doorway. He had his old leather jacket on, but he still had the worn look in his eyes that Rory knew well, "Hey."

"Hey," he nodded. Walking into her room much like he had almost six years earlier. He looked over her books, picking up her _Howl_ book, the one he had stolen and written in the margins of that first night they met.

"Wow, aren't we hooked on phonics."

He put it down, a small smile on his face. Then, he reached over and picked up her newest edition of _The Fountainhead_, shaking his head, as he looked it over. It was complete with new cover art.

"You should borrow it," Rory told him, "Give it another shot."

"Ayn Rand's always going to be a nut, no matter how many times they reprint the book," Jess shot back. They shared a look, and Jess' eyes wandered over to the window. Obviously replaying that first day they met, much like Rory was. She had a strange feeling of déjà vu in between all the tension. They both knew what day it was.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, breaking their reverie. Bringing them back to the present.

"Yeah," she nodded, "Getting used to the cast and one handed typing. I'm doing better though."

"Good," Jess nodded, glancing over his shoulder at Lorelai, Sookie and Jackson moving the feast into the dining room. Lane and Dave had arrived, Paris and Jamie right after, Liza with them.

"We should probably go," Rory pointed nervously out the door. Neither of them was willing to talk about what was on their minds at that moment, the fifth anniversary of their breakup. It was much like it had been that day before Christmas Eve when they had done everything to avoid each other.

"Right," he took a step back towards the door, "Wouldn't want to miss your welcome home dinner."

"You want something to drink?" Rory questioned.

"I'll get it," Jess told her, and she nodded. Grabbing her own soda, she headed into the dining room to find, as she suspected, Tristan walking in with her father and Georgia. Jess saw the man and grabbed a beer, following a trail he had taken six years ago, and went onto the back porch.

After a moment, he heard the door open. He sensed her presence behind him, and he knew that there was about to be another bout of déjà vu that night. It was odd how the anniversary of the night he had been forced out of Stars Hollow because the love of his life said she hadn't cared about him, he was reliving the night it had all started. The night he had first met Rory.

"God, I wish I could have that beer," Lorelai heaved a sigh, coming up beside Jess as he opened the bottle.

"Oh, for me, hey, thanks."

"Here to give me a lecture on how great Luke is?" Jess joked, glancing at Lorelai Gilmore. He had gotten off on the wrong foot with this woman, had ended up on her bad side not even a week after arriving in Stars Hollow.

"Well, I am sleeping with him," Lorelai smiled at him. This was the punk that had broken her daughter, and here she was reliving the night she had decided that she hated him with a passion. Except, it was five years later and she had let go of any of the hate she had towards him. In the past few months, Jess had showed her that he was really a good guy with the way he was with Liza. The way that he loved her daughter unconditionally. She saw it.

"Guess it's about time I apologize for that," he mentioned, and almost laughed when he saw the shock on Lorelai's face.

"It's in the past," she shrugged, "So, you coming to eat?"

"Is there grilled cheese?" Another smirk appeared on Jess' face and Lorelai shook her head.

"Come on kid," Lorelai patted Jess on the shoulder, "Let's go and grab some grub before they eat it all. I mean, have you seen the way Liza eats?" Then, the two former enemies left the porch and went into the kitchen for the meal that had been prepared for Rory's homecoming from the hospital.

(Front Porch of Gilmore-Danes home, and hour later)

Rory sat on the swing outside, Tristan beside her. Lorelai had banished Rory from the house when she had tried to help with the clearing up. Minutes later, Tristan had joined her under the pretense that there had been complaints that he had been getting in the way of the others.

They sat some space away from each other, Rory keeping her distance with all sorts of new thoughts flying through her head. Looking at Tristan she saw what she had seen when they had run into each other at the gas station, what she had seen when had had picked her up at the grocery store in Boston. A friend who would be there for her in her time of need, someone who she could count on always. He was her shoulder to cry on, her best friend.

She shared things with Tristan that she couldn't share with her mother anymore, with Lane or Paris. Things that she felt silly talking about with anyone else. There were no regrets anymore, as of that moment, of getting pregnant and having his kid. If she were to have a kid with anyone other than Jess, it would have to be Tristan. Only because she knew he would raise his daughter well. This was something that would keep them tied together always.

"Rory..." Tristan's voice broke through the silence they had been sitting in. One hand was reaching into the pocket of his jacket.

"Yeah?" her breath caught. She knew what he was doing. He was searching for his answer, the answer that Rory had come up with on her way home from the hospital. She was ready to follow her heart, and not her head.

"Will you marry me?" He had taken out the small, velvet box and opened to reveal a delicate diamond ring. Rory looked up at him, knowing that this night would hold another heartbreak than the one she had caused in the past. With tears in her eyes, she shook her head.

"No," the words came in a near whisper. Tristan nodded, hiding signs of disappointment.

"So, friends huh?" he smiled slightly, reassuring her that he would be all right. His heart would recover in time as it had before from the rejection of Rory Gilmore.

"Friend," she nodded, "I love you."

"Love you too Mary," Tristan leaned over, and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her into a hug. They sat there a moment, letting the finality of her choice settle in. Tristan DuGray had been a high school crush, a relationship that would never truly be explored to its greatest depth. Yet, their friendship would remain strong and affirmed as they raised they daughter Haley Juliet Mary DuGray Gilmore together.

"You should go find him," Tristan suggested, as he pulled away, "Tell him." Rory nodded and gave Tristan a light kiss on the cheek, before getting up and going into the house.

(On the Streets of Stars Hollow.)

Her mother had told her that Jess had snuck out the backdoor after Tristan had gone out to sit with her. Something about that didn't sit well with Rory. It was quite possible that maybe Jess was jumping to conclusions about them considering they day. With the odd sense of returning to her teenage years still upon Rory, she walked to where she had met Jess that night on the street.

"Goodnight Dodger."

She crossed the path where they had met coming from the store. Stood in the same spot she had stood watching him walk away. That night she had discovered someone who seemed to share the same flare for reading she had. He had written notes in the margins of her book.

"That's not a trick, it's a felony."

It surprised her that Jess hadn't pulled the same trick tonight as he had then, with all the oddities that had been going around lately. Since she had left the hospital, since she had first glanced at the calendar, it had been as if she was transported back in time to a day where things were just beginning to unravel. She had met the mysterious Jess and had felt immediately drawn to him. Some things had played out as they had years ago, and in a way it almost made Rory more certain of her choice.

Then, up ahead she caught sight of him in his leather jacket still, an unlit cigarette in his hand, and he was in the same pose as he had been that night at the beginning of their relationship. That night after the dance marathon when they had officially began their relationship. Rory smiled to herself, more sure than ever of what she was doing.

"You going to smoke that, or mind meld it?" she asked him, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. She remembered clearly that that was what she had said to him, when she had caught him doing the very same thing five years ago.

"It depends," he shrugged, somewhat surprised to find her there.

"On what?" she raised a brow, one hand in the pocket of her jacket, while the arm with the cast lay at her side.

"What's going to happen next," was his reply, looking at her honestly, "You know what day it is?"

"The day I sent you away," Rory nodded, then she paused a second before continuing, "It was a mistake. I'm sorry that I ever did."

"I know," he nodded, and then shrugged, "It's done now." He fiddled with the cigarette a second longer, looking at it carefully before fixing his chocolate brown eyes on her blue ones once more, "Every year in New York on this day, I used to go that bench in the park and just sit there. It was the one-day of the year I allowed myself to think about you. Think about what I had done wrong to make you send me away back to New York when you had told me you loved me not long ago."

"I used to wonder if you would've left after time anyway," she told him, "Not that you would abandon Liza, but that you would grow restless of being in Stars Hollow. It's ultimately why I decided it was best to send you away."

"I thought you said it was because you didn't want Liza to go through the absent dad thing," Jess pointed out.

"It was that too," she admitted. There were so many reasons she had never admitted to anyone on why she had sent Jess away.

"Right."

"Jess, I'm glad you didn't smoke that cigarette," she whispered, and took a step foreword taking her hand out of her pocket. Jess furrowed his eyebrows a bit.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she nodded, as he leaned in and kissed her. They kissed deeply and passionately, Jess wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in closer to his body. She could feel heat emanating from his body.

"You going to run off this time?" he wondered, leaning back against the gas pumps behind him. Rory shook her head, and he smiled. His hands still on her waist, he brought her closer to him and kissed her again.

Stepping back, Rory looked him over. This was the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. For the first time in her life, she was surer of that than anything else. A small smile played on her lips and she stuck her hand into her pocket once again. Frowning slightly, she felt a cold metal object that hadn't been there before against her hand.

Glancing up at Jess, she saw that he was still watching her, his cigarette tucked safely back in his pocket again, still not smoked. Unsure of what it was she pulled it out of her pocket and found a silver quarter. Tilting her head, she held it up to Jess.

"You said any place that you wouldn't naturally find a coin," he smirked, and Rory shook her head. Remembering his coin disappearing act from that night on the street she had been recalling earlier.

"You're unbelievable," Rory laughed, "Going to show me that other little trick of yours, the one otherwise known as a felony?"

"Nah," Jess shook his head and reached out to take the coin out of her hand and then did an illusion with it so it disappeared. Unimpressed, Rory watched him. Then, when Jess held out his hand again, the coin was still no longer in sight, and instead there was a small, delicate diamond ring, "I'll leave you with this one instead."

"Jess…" her breath caught for the second time that night. The ring was less expensive, less extravagant than the one that Tristan had gotten her, but it didn't matter to her.

"Rory, will you marry me?" Jess proposed. Rory started at him, and then nodded. It was the second proposal that night, but it was the one that felt the most right to her.

"Yes," she laughed her eyes watery. A few tears escaping as Jess slid the ring on her finger. This was what Rory had wanted. What she had hoped for since Jess had shown up in Stars Hollow. Things had gotten in the way of this, but in the end they had still ended up together.

They kissed again, longer and more passionately than they had earlier. Closing her eyes tightly, Rory lost herself completely in the kiss. It was the most real and passionate kiss she had experienced since she and Jess had last been in a relationship together. A kiss filled with love, and caring. One that signified they were both ready to be in this for the long run.


	21. Happy Again

****

Family Portrait

****

Author's Note: I know that a lot of you thought it was over. For a second, when I finished the chapter I thought it was too. Then, I thought about all that was left to write. The Literati relationship still needs to be explored some more, everyone needs to hear Rory's good news, the twins need to be named and born, as does Haley and I might even have to throw in a wedding or two. So, there's still a lot to be done. Just because Rory's made her choice doesn't mean the story has to end just yet. Rest assured everyone it's not over yet. Thank you to all of you who reviewed, I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter (most of you at least). Everything ended up perfectly; the Jess proposal was exactly as I hoped it would be in the end when I set out to write it. To mochamint19 who asked about the pronunciation of Haley. If you've ever seen _One Tree Hill_ it would be pronounced the same as the character, or if you haven't it's: Hay-Lee or Hey-lee (Pretty much the same thing).

****

Chapter Twenty-One: Happy Again

When they returned back to the Gilmore-Danes home, Jess and Rory were surprised to find that everyone was out. Whether they had gone in search of their precious, injured, Rory, or had just altogether decided to up and leave was unknown. All they knew was that the house was dark, the door locked, and the extra key that her mother kept under the turtle was gone.

"Great," Rory heaved a sigh, plopping down on the swing she and Tristan had sat on earlier that night. She felt guilty for leading him on just then, for making him think that there might be a chance. Her mind flashed back to the hospital when she woke up, it could've gone that way. She could've ended up with Tristan, had he gathered up the courage to propose at that time, she just might have yes then.

Jess looked at her a moment, and then looked around. Walking off the porch, he headed around the house and Rory frowned. Getting up to follow him, she saw him standing outside the window to her old bedroom attempting to pry it open. "What're you doing?" she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Getting us into the house," he replied, "If you haven't noticed, it's cold out."

"They'll be back soon," she tried to assure her new fiancée.

"And we'll be safe and warm inside the house," he retorted, finally getting the window open. Turning towards her, he offered her his had, "You first."

"You know, this is a felony," Rory couldn't help but point out to him. Obviously, Jess had opted for felony that night after all. Just not the one she had expected. Then again, she hadn't expected a lot that night.

"You live here," Jess reminded her.

"My mom lives here," she corrected, "I used to live here." Nonetheless, she found herself allowing him to help her through the window, which proved to be tough with only one good arm. Once she was through, Jess followed. He tumbled gracefully onto the floor, and then stood up running a hand through his hair.

"Was that so hard?" he asked.

"This still isn't right," Rory wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was glad to be in the warmth of her old home, the home of her mother.

"Come on, we'll watch a movie or something while we wait," Jess suggested, leading her out of the room.

"Where could they have gone?" she followed close behind him, her hand reaching out and sliding into his.

"Don't know," he shrugged and then led her towards the couch before squatting down by Lorelai and Luke's cabinet with their DVD collection. "Preference?"

"Umm…_Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_!" she exclaimed, remembering her mother's plan to watch _The Godfather_ after everyone left dinner. She racked her brain to figure out where her mother could've gone with everyone at this hour.

"No."

"You asked, I answered!" Rory argued, "Plus I'm the one who just got home from the hospital, and the one who's pregnant. So, put the movie on Jess!"

"No."

"Fine," crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back into the couch Rory pouted. Watching her, Jess shook his head attempting to not give into her puppy dog eyes. She knew he was trying his hardest not to end up a sucker like Luke usually did.

"Good," he nodded. Then, giving her one last glance, he heaved a sigh and took out the _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ DVD, sliding it into the player. Grinning triumphantly Rory blew him a kiss.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. Settling back into the couch as she waited for the movie to start, finding a comfortable spot on the couch, she watched Jess carefully. Once he had slid the DVD into the player, he came back and sat next to her again, putting his arm around her shoulder. Rory leaned into him, appreciating the warmth his body supplied her.

The movie started and as soon as song broke out, she heard Jess groan. She smiled to herself and snuggled a little closer to him, amazed at how easy it was to just slip back into a relationship with him. It was almost as if nothing had changed between them since they were eighteen and last together even though so much really had.

Twenty minutes into the film, the front door opened and Lorelai, Luke, with Lucas in arms, Lane, Dave, Paris, Jamie, Liza and Tristan all filed into the house. Rory sat up and turned to look at them, Jess following her action. "Mom!" Liza, catching sight of her mother ran over and jumped on the couch between Rory and Jess. Sliding over, Jess gave his daughter a little more room on the couch.

"Where'd you go?" Rory asked her mother, as she came around and sat in chair across from the couch, glancing to see where they were in the movie.

"To walk Sookie home, and then get Liza some ice cream," Lorelai mentioned, smoothing her hand over her stomach.

"To get Liza or you?" Rory chuckled.

"Both," Lorelai admitted, and then raised a brow, "Where were you two and how did you get into the house?"

"You don't want to know," Luke interrupted gruffly, and Jess chuckled. It pleased everyone to know that some things would never change. The couple exchanged a look then, wondering how to respond to the first part of Lorelai's question.

"What's that?" Lorelai shouted, reaching for Rory's broken left arm.

"A cast," Jess put in, knowing that Lorelai had obviously seen the ring on Rory's finger that had not been there earlier.

"Not that!" she glared at Jess, obviously not appreciating his humor at a time like this, and then pointed to the ring, "That!"

"Oh," Rory looked at Jess, then Tristan a moment before looking back at her mother, "Jess and I are getting married."

An eruption of activity occurred just then. Lorelai gasped loudly, obviously more surprised than anyone would've thought, Lane squealed delightedly and rushed over to Rory, talking a mile a minute. Luke gave his curt congratulations, and the rest of the men followed en suite. Caught in the middle of everything, Jess and Rory snuck one more look at each other before Lane managed to drag her off into the kitchen.

"When did this happen?" the bubbly Korean inquired, "You finally decided?"

"It happened when I left to go find Jess after talking to Tristan," Rory replied, "And yeah, I decided."

"I knew you would choose Jess," Lane said, happily, "Did he propose at the bridge?"

It only occurred to Rory then, that this major milestone in her and Jess' relationship hadn't happened at the bridge as she had always imagined it would. In fact, she was surprised that it hadn't considering all of the other events that had taken place on the bridge. She hadn't even thought to look for Jess at the bridge first, she had headed straight to the streets, walking aimlessly around town looking for him. Then again, their friendship and attraction for each other hadn't started at the bridge.

"No, at the gas station," Rory chuckled, it wasn't the most romantic place to propose.

"Oh," Lane scrunched up her nose, "I never would've thought…"

"You're getting married!" her mother spoke up again, she was nearly in tears and looked ridiculous with her hair all askew from her hat, and her large belly protruding out.

"I'm getting married," Rory nodded. Then, the two Gilmore women embraced. It was finally settling in then for Rory. This wasn't just embarking on an adolescent relationship with Jess for the second time. It was going to be a permanent thing now. She was engaged.

"You can't get married, you're my baby!" Lorelai blubbered.

"Mom, you're going to have two more babies on top of Lucas to worry about," Rory pointed out, "And my being married won't change anything."

"That's one more wedding I've got to prepare," Lorelai pulled away from her daughter, wiping away her tears, "Lane and Dave's and now yours and Jess'." Turning to Paris, obviously having moved on to her next though, "You and Jamie better hold off until after all the babies are born and the couples wed. Got it?"

"No problem Lorelai," Paris managed a small smile, "What about Tristan?"

"We're friends," Rory replied, "He proposed, but I turned him down. We're going to raise Haley together, but I don't love him as anything more than a friend and the father of my second daughter."

"I thought you two would be together," Paris admitted, "Just because of what he was able to do for you when Jess was still with Kate. He made you happy."

"Jess does too," Rory replied, "And you know how much I love him. How much I'll always love him."

"We know," her mother and two best friends nodded. Rory looked around at the three of them, and then they all moved in for a group hug. More tears were shed in between the pregnant Gilmore women, and Lane and Paris were obviously trying hard not to cry themselves. They were growing up.

__

(In the Living Room)

The men sat stiffly in the room, except Jamie and Dave who stood silently behind the couches. Luke on the opposite side of the couch from Jess and Tristan in the chair off to the side, there was a silence between them. Lucas sat on the floor, playing with some cars and looking up at the adults, and Liza, who sat in between her father and Luke, with her legs swinging looked between the three men trying to decide for herself what was going on.

"This is permanent, right?" Luke asked his nephew, afraid that he might once again leave Stars Hollow and break Rory's heart.

"Yeah," Jess nodded.

"You're not leaving?" he pressed.

"Not a chance," and with that his reformed hooligan nephew shook his head.

"Good," Luke glanced at Jess, then at Liza. He was satisfied that Jess was going to be here and be a part of his family. Play the role that his father never could've. It made Luke proud.

"You better be good to her," Tristan warned from his corner of the room. Jess and Luke looked over, they had been waiting for 'the other man' to speak up. Jess just nodded silently. "She's the most amazing girl in the world, and you're lucky enough to have gotten her."

"I know," Jess looked over, and caught Tristan's eye. The two came to terms with what had happened between them, and Rory. They came to an understanding, and they were both satisfied knowing that the other was going to be there looking out for her too. Sure, Tristan was upset, but he had his friendship with Rory and that was going to be enough for him.

They would have their daughter, and he expected to be there every step of the way. It didn't matter to him what everyone else would say about their family, he was going to be a father to Haley and love her with all of his heart. He also knew that Jess would too, and that when Tristan couldn't be there for her if she fell down she would have Jess. There was no fear of the other man taking over his role as father because they both knew that Jess would never allow it. Haley would have two fathers, but she would always know her 'real' dad.

When the women came back, they brought the liveliness back as well. Lorelai and Lane chattered about, Dave and Jamie stepped up to their respective girlfriends from where they had been standing. They brightened up knowing that the tension would be lifted, and that Luke, Tristan and Jess had found peace in the little words they had shared with one another.

"We have to call people and tell them!" Lorelai announced, "I mean, Rory Gilmore is engaged! The world has to know! And my parents! They're not going to be thrilled considering they're not very fond of Jess, but who cares!"

"Why don't we just have a blimp fly around the country announcing it!" Jess muttered sarcastically. The remark didn't go unnoticed by Lorelai.

"No!" Luke immediately jumped in, "Don't even think about it Lorelai!"

"But it's such a good idea!" she pouted slightly, giving her best puppy dog eyes to Luke, who had become the master of turning them down when her ideas were too preposterous.

"I have to agree with Luke mom," Rory mentioned, "I don't need my personal life announced on a blimp!"

"Fine, we could always just wait to tell everyone until they get the wedding invitations," Lorelai offered, "Especially Emily and Richard Gilmore because then they won't be able to stop the wedding!"

"Won't they notice the ring Rory just happens to be wearing?" Lane put in, "After all, they're going to be checking her arm!"

"She can take it off Friday dinners!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"I'm not going to take the ring off!" Rory shook her head.

"Fine," Lorelai sighed, "We'll just have to wait until they've drank enough and then slip it into the conversation casually. Like, I've named the babies and oh yeah, Rory's engaged to Jess the hooligan who got her knocked up at eighteen!"

"Real subtle," Luke mumbled.

"How about I just call them and tell them later?" Rory put in.

"Alright, but wait until tomorrow," her mother advised. By that time, Liza had gotten up off the couch and was tugging on Rory's shirt.

"Mommy?" she whined, trying to get her mother's attention as quickly as possible, "Mom!"

"Yes?" Rory asked, looking down at her daughter.

"Are you and daddy getting married?" she asked. Her big blue eyes were filled with that curiosity Rory knew all too well. She stooped down to her level and nodded.

"Yeah sweetie, we are," leaning in, Rory placed a small kiss on her daughter's forehead, "After the baby is born."

"Cool!" she grinned widely, "Does that mean I get to be the flower girl at _both_ you wedding and Lane and Dave's?"

"Sure," Rory nodded, "If that's what you want, but now you go to bed and sleep. It's late!" Liza beamed at her mother and gave her a big hug, then made her rounds with the others present in the room before scurrying off to bed.

When she was gone, Luke scooped up Lucas and carried him off to bed as well, leaving everyone else standing in silence. Tristan was glancing at his watch, Lane and Dave had moved over to the couch, and Paris and Jamie were zipping their coats back up.

"We're going to go back to the Inn," Jamie told the others, "We've got to spend the day with Paris' father tomorrow, so we've got to be up early. You know how Paris gets if we're just a little late." That comment merited him a small smack from Paris.

"I got to go too," Tristan stood up, "Driving back to Boston for work tomorrow." He smiled at Rory and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get home, so you know I got back all right."

"Thanks," Rory smiled, "Drive safe."

When they had left, Rory went over and sat beside Jess, taking his hand in hers. The arm with the cast rested on her lap, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Lane and Dave were next to them, Dave's arm wrapped around Lane and she was leaning into him. Lorelai had moved into the chair Tristan had occupied earlier, and they all looked at each other in comfortable silence.

"Rory?" Lane's voice was quiet, a near whisper.

"Yeah?" Rory turned her head slightly to look at the other girl; Jess, Lorelai and Dave also turned their attention to what was being said.

"We're getting married!" she exclaimed, a bright smile plastered on her face.

"I know," Rory couldn't help but smile as well. Sitting here in the room at this very time, Rory knew that this was a day she would always remember. Not only because this was the day she had gotten engaged, but also because for the first time in years everything felt as if it were right. This was how it was supposed to be.

****


	22. Telling Emily Gilmore

**Family Portrait**

**Author's Note:** Thank you to those who reviewed. I'm still not done, and the ideas keep coming for this chapter. Telling Emily and Richard Gilmore is going to be a ball. Keep up the reviews!

**Chapter Twenty-Two:** **Telling Emily Gilmore**

Telling Emily and Richard Gilmore that she was engaged wasn't supposed to be this hard. She'd woken up that morning, Jess still fast asleep by her side, in the apartment above the diner and had promptly checked the time. Her grandparents would just be finishing breakfast, it would be the perfect time to tell them.

When she had gotten on the phone with her grandmother though, there had been no getting her to listen. Emily had gone on and on about throwing Rory a baby shower. She hadn't been able to get one word in before Emily jumped in about something else. In the end, all she had gotten out of the conversation was that she was going to Friday night dinner with her mother and Luke.

"This is impossible," she sighed, shaking her head. Jess stirred in his sleep and rolled over. Rory was amazed that her mother had actually suggested she and Jess stay together above the diner that night. Since she had gotten home from the hospital, Lorelai had insisted that Rory stay in the house and forget about her room at the Inn.

"Do you Gilmores ever sleep?" Jess mumbled tiredly, sitting up slightly in bed.

"Yes, we enjoy our sleep very much thank you," Rory replied, smiling at him.

"Tell me why you're awake then," he groaned.

"I needed to call my grandparents," Rory clarified, "Tell them about the engagement."

"Do we really have to?" Jess wondered, "We can always just get married, and in a couple of years, they'll ask and you can tell them."

"We have to tell them," she told him, and then leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I'm going to get coffee."

"Mmm…" Jess rolled over again, going back to sleep. Rory smiled and stood up, heading towards the door of the apartment. She could get used to this, being with Jess for the rest of her life. Of course, considering she was getting married to him she better be able to. This feeling of permanency though, it felt good to Rory. It didn't scare her at all, and she hoped that Jess felt the same way.

Walking down into the diner, she paused seeing the morning rush, and looked down at herself. She couldn't help but let out a little laugh. There was no doubt she was a sight to see. Her short, curly hair a mess with pajama pants on and just a white tank top. Spotting her mother at the counter, she went over and took a seat next to her. "Morning."

"Good morning oh daughter of mine," Lorelai grinned, "Sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm…" Rory nodded, and grinned at Luke as he slid a coffee over to her. The twenty-three year old received the off look from the occasional customer, but she didn't let it get to her. After all, it was her prerogative to eat in her pajamas if she wanted to.

"So, do Emily and Richard know that their dreams of you marrying to the likes of the prestigious Tristan DuGray are shattered yet?" Lorelai wondered.

"I tried to tell her this morning, but all she could talk about was throwing me and Haley a baby shower," Rory told her mother, "What was I supposed to say?"

"Hey, grandma, you better make it an engagement party at the same time," Lorelai offered.

"Why can't you just out and say that you're getting married?" Luke wondered.

"You do remember this is Emily and Richard Gilmore we're dealing with right?" Lorelai raised a brow at her husband, "Two people who when we announced we were getting married simply said, 'Oh, well, that's nice' and continued to eat their supper."

"So?" Luke shrugged.

"Oh, you still have so much to learn," her mother shook her head, and then turned back to Rory, "You do realize what kind of pressure this is going to put on poor Liza, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Luke was looking at his wife as if she was insane; "They love Liza."

"Right, they love Liza," Lorelai nodded, "But they put all their hopes and dreams into Rory to not disappoint them like me, their only daughter, did. Then, she gets pregnant at eighteen, ruins their plans for her. She goes to Yale though, and then when she gets pregnant again, there's a glimpse of hope, this time it's a DuGray, a name that carries value. Once again their hope is dashed because she's not going to marry him, but instead, the hooligan who ruined their plans in the first place. They're really going to be rolling out the red carpet for Jess.

"They still have a glimmer of hope though, a slight chance that at least one Gilmore will carry the name with honor. Their great-granddaughter, Liza. So, when the news finally breaks that Rory is marrying Jess, they invite us over for another Friday night dinner. But, this one is different. There are five-year-old boys, great-grandchildren of all their good friends, suitors for Liza. They'll be an arranged marriage, and they'll kidnap Liza in the middle of the night and lock her in a tower until she's old enough to marry the man they picked out."

Rory and Luke stared at her as she dramatically gave her monologue. When she was done, she took a sip of her coffee, and shook her head. Rory laughed lightly, knowing her mother was exaggerating, as always, when it came to talking about her parents.

"You're crazy," Luke shook his head gruffly, and went alone to serve other customers.

"I'd have to agree with Luke on that one mom," Rory said, still grinning.

"You just wait," Lorelai told her daughter, "If anyone knows my mother and father better than me let them speak up and say different, but I was raised in that house and trust me on this. Emily and Richard Gilmore will not rest until Liza's future is set in stone, so they won't have to worry about little mistakes like mine or yours."

"Oh, quit the drama queen routine Lorelai," Christopher chuckled, sliding into a seat next to his daughter. Rory offered her father a small smile, and moved off her stool to give Georgia a hug.

"Chris!" Lorelai exclaimed, "Your daughter is currently engaged to Jess Mariano, now tell me I'm being a drama queen."

"Oh," Chris then turned to look seriously at his daughter, "In that case, beware of the wrath of the Gilmore clan."

"I think I'm going to take my coffee and breakfast upstairs," Rory shook her head, "Where sanity is more likely not just optional."

"Right, Jess is sane," Lorelai chuckled, "You just want to have crazy morning 'I'm engaged' sex!" Rory rolled her eyes at her mother, used to this behavior, Chris coughed trying to suppress his laughter, Luke glared at his wife, and the rest of the diner started at them in silent interest. Gossip would be flying around the town about Rory and Jess' apparent engagement in no time.

"Well, then just make sure not go upstairs," Rory grinned, disappearing up the stairs with no further comment on the matter. Just let them wonder what was going on up there between her and Jess.

_(The Elder Gilmore mansion)_

"Jess and I are engaged," Rory announced to the closed front door of her grandparent's house where she found herself standing. It wasn't even a Friday night, but she had forced herself, Jess and Liza to pile into the car and head over to Hartford for a visit.

"There, you said it," Jess said, he was leaning against the wall, his hands in the pocket of the suit jacket Luke had forced him to wear, "Can we go now?"

"No, Jess!" Rory frowned at her fiancée; "I have to tell them that we're engaged." She sighed looking over at Liza who was sitting on the steps playing with her Leap Pad as she had been for the past ten minutes they'd been out there.

"Then just knock on the door and tell them," Jess coaxed. Rory could tell he was trying his hardest to be patient with her. This dinner thing was really something he didn't want to do, but he was doing it because she wanted him too.

"All right," and with that, she reached out and rang the doorbell.

Within seconds, the maid appeared at the door and regarded them carefully, waiting for someone to tell her who they were and what they were doing at the Gilmore residence. Especially since Rory was sure her grandparents weren't expecting any company tonight.

"I'm Rory Gilmore," she informed the maid, whom she'd never seen before, "Can you tell my grandparents that I'm here to see them."

The maid nodded and led the two adults and Liza, who help onto Jess' hand now, into the house and took their coats before rushing off to Richard Gilmore's office. Rory seemed relieved that she would face her grandfather first, maybe he would at least be more civil than her grandmother.

"Rory?" her grandmother's voice rang through the hall, shattering all hopes that Richard Gilmore would be there to calm his wife down when she found out who Jess' companion of the night was. "I wasn't expecting you here? What are you doing here?" She paused, turning to Jess, "Who are you?"

Rory looked at Jess, wondering if he was going to be polite and answer, but he was waiting for her instead. He'd never been faced with the wrath of Emily Gilmore before, and he certainly hadn't prepared himself well enough for this encounter with him. None of Luke's stories had prepared him to actual meet the famous Emily Gilmore.

"Grandma," Rory began, "This is Jess, you remember me telling you about him, right?"

Her grandmother frowned, "That horrendous criminal who got you pregnant when you were eighteen? Of course I remember him!" With that, a glare was sent in Jess' general direction.

Just then, Richard Gilmore game striding into the room in his usual distinguished manner. "Emily, you didn't tell me we were having guests," he paused and turned to see Rory, "Rory! What a pleasant surprise! It's always nice to see you and Liza."

Grinning widely at her grandfather, Rory moved foreword to give him a hug. She was happy to have this relief from questioning, this temporary distraction from having to tell her grandparents their big news.

"Who's this young man you brought with you today?" her grandfather questioned.

Before Rory could speak, Liza piped up, "That's Jess. He's my dad and grandma thinks he's a horrendous criminal and mommy and daddy are getting married."

The whole room froze. Rory looked down at her daughter, and then over at Jess who had a small smirk on his face before she finally looked at the shocked expressions of her grandparents.

Them finding out about her engagement had gone exactly as she thought it would. Now, all she had to do was wait for the yelling to start, wait for Emily Gilmore to start going on, right in front of Jess, about how Rory was making a big mistake. How she should be marrying Tristan, and not some hooligan who broke her heart and got her pregnant almost crushing her chances at going to college.

Instead, Emily Gilmore just smiled politely and said, "Well, congratulations."

This time, it was Rory's turn to be shocked. She's see Emily's reaction to her mother's announcement that she and Luke were getting engaged, but she hadn't expected the same non-emotional response from her grandmother with her. She didn't know whether to be happy or not about this.


	23. Betty and Veronica

**Family Portrait**

**Author's Note:** I'm really sorry for the long waits in between chapters, you guys are so patient with me. Anyway, I'm going to try and wrap this up within the next three weeks so you guys won't have to wait another three years for it to be finished, especially since I'm starting college on the 24th of August. There are still a few more chapters I need to get out of this story.

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Betty and Veronica**

Tension filled the room, mingling with the silence that had crept over them since Liza had first announced that Rory and Jess were getting married. Nothing but the silent scrapings of forks and knives against the china could be heard, even Liza had sensed that it was time to keep quiet after she had received clipped answers form both her parents and grandparents. From time to time, she would heave an audibly sigh, just to let everyone know that she was bored and that was a very dangerous this.

Rory glanced around carefully at her grandparents and then Jess, who seemed content focusing on eating his food. Her grandfather's face was unreadable, but Emily Gilmore wore and expression of pure anger, and that was quite possible more dangerous that Liza being bored. In fact, after all the years of Friday night dinners that Rory had attended, she knew that Emily Gilmore in a bad mood was more lethal than pretty much anything.

"Grandma…" she started slowly, hoping to perhaps ease her grandmother into a conversation, try to get her to understand why Rory was marrying Jess, but Emily did nothing but continue to ferociously cut away at her meat. This was definitely worse than when her mother had told her that she was getting married to Luke.

"Mommy loves daddy," Liza piped in, "I asked Grams how come they weren't married before when I was real little like Grams and Luke are married now when Lucas is little and she said that mommy wasn't ready to marry Jess then."

Emily forced herself to look over at Rory, the two locked eyes for brief seconds before she threw her napkin down on the table and pushed her chair away, "Excuse me, I have some other things to attend to. Richard, would you see them out when they leave?"

"Certainly Emily," her grandfather said brusquely as she high tailed it out of the room.

Heaving a sigh, Rory looking over at Jess and then her grandfather, "I guess this went better than expected."

"You're grandmother will come around," Richard assured his granddaughter, "Just give her time."

"You're okay with this though grandpa, you're not upset?" she looked at him with big, wide blue eyes, searching for approval. She knew quite well that she didn't need it, but she'd feel better at least knowing that her grandfather was all right with this, that he still loved her.

"Of course I am Rory, Jess makes you happy and I'm happy with that," he offered her a comforting smile. A telephone rang off in the distance, but they all ignored it. Rory had a distinct feeling that something was happening though, as soon as the phone rang she knew what was coming.

Second later, the maid appeared in the doorway, holding the receiver, "Miss Gilmore, there's a telephone call for you, your mother."

Immediately, Rory felt worry wash over her. Something was wrong. Something had happened to her mother, or Luke, or to the babies. Stiffly, she took the phone from the maid and pressed it to her hear, holding it with a death grip. She was afraid to know what happened, especially after how horribly tonight had been going.

"Hello?" her voice quavered slightly, "Mom? What is it?"

"The twins!" Lorelai shrieked, "They're coming! Rory, the twins are coming tonight!"

At the news, Rory nearly dropped the phone in utter disbelief. She had expected this to happen any day now, she knew that her mother's due date was approaching, but just hearing her say the words, just knowing that it was actually happened. She felt her head spin as she pushed her chair back, Jess put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "We're on our way."

Without another word, Rory hung up the phone and turned to her fiancée and grandfather with wide eyes, she could feel Liza regarding her with utter curiosity and confusion behind her, but this was all too much for her to take. She was about to become a big second for the third and fourth time, all in one night.

"Mom's having the babies," she finally choked out, "Mom's having the babies!"

In a flurry of motion, she had collected their coats and Jess had Liza in her arms, following closely behind her. He dare not say a word, especially with her all excited now. Richard had followed, calling out to Emily to tell her the news. Suddenly, chaos had erupted from the tension and silence; none of them could sit or stand still.

_(Waiting room of the hospital) _

It seemed that they were all seeing way too much of the hospital in the New Year. Rory and Luke were quietly pacing the waiting room, waiting for news of the twins seeing as Lorelai had refused to let either of them into the room. Sookie and Jackson were watching the kids play on the other side of the room, as Jess, Lane, Jamie, Tristan, Dave, and Paris all sat and watched quietly from the sidelines. Richard and Emily Gilmore had gone to get some coffee for them all, both excited to become grandparents again, Emily's anger forgotten for the moment.

"How long does it take?" Luke grumbled, "She goes in, they come out, and the doctors tell us I have a son and daughter. It didn't take this long with Lucas or Liza."

"Liza was premature," Rory reminded him as she walked by him for the hundredth time, "And it's twins now, so it's bound to take longer."

"Still," Luke persisted, "Two babies, pull 'em out one after the other and finito. Two more Daneses in the world."

"God help us all," Jess mumbled sarcastically. It was no time to joke though, and they all found this out seconds later when Luke shot Jess a death glare from across the room. His nephew just nodded and settled lowed into his seat.

"Mr. Danes? Ms. Gilmore?" A nurse appeared just then, smiling brightly at them both.

"Yes?" They both whirled around to face her; the rest of the group followed en suite, all waiting for the news of what was to come.

"Mrs. Gilmore-Danes would like the two of you to join her in the room," she supplied, "She also asked that I not tell you anything about the babies until you get there so she can tell you herself."

Both Rory and Luke frowned, but they knew better than to argue with the nurse over something that Lorelai had decided while she was doped up on her drugs. They knew that once Lorelai her had mind set to something, she'd stick it out. This had been learnt after they had spent hours arguing with her about her not letting them in the delivery room. Luke and Rory had both wanted to be there to make sure that one of the babies wasn't named 'Lorelai' or 'Luke' again while she was under anesthesia.

Entering the room, Rory caught sight of her mother cradling to tiny babies that were wrapped in a blanket with much difficulty, both babies were wailing and squirming in her grasp, but Lorelai refused to let the doctor remove one of them from her arms. When Luke went to pick up one of his children though, she easily let him take it.

"Rory," Lorelai said, looking up at her daughter, "Meet Betty and Veronica, your sisters."

Both Rory and Luke froze, staring at Lorelai with open mouths. Had she just said _Betty_ and _Veronica_? Wasn't one of these two supposed to be a boy? Not to mention to fact that they were named after _Archie_ comic book characters. This was exactly what they had feared.

"You named my daughters Betty and Veronica?" Luke gasped, "Lorelai, I thought we had agreed on names!"

"That was before I found out they were _both_ girls," Lorelai pointed out to Luke, "It turns out Veronica here had her cord between her legs. Isn't it just too cute?"

"I thought I told you not to name the babies after fictional characters," Rory sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking baby Veronica out of her mothers arms. Rocking the screaming baby gently, she slowly made her stop crying.

"No, you said not to name them after TV or Movie characters," Lorelai grinned widely, "Never anything about comic books."

"I didn't even know you _read_ comic books," Luke held Betty, still in utter shock about all of this. He couldn't believe that he had two daughters and that their names were Betty and Veronica. He was never leaving Lorelai alone to do something like this again; Rory knew that for sure.

"I did the whole time Rory was in the hospital," Lorelai informed them, taking Betty back from Luke, "This is Lillian Betty Gilmore-Danes, but we're calling her Betty."

"We're calling her _Lilly_," Luke argued.

"Betty," Lorelai insisted, "And that is Veronica Megan Gilmore-Danes." Motioning to baby Veronica in Rory's arms, a wide grin spread across her face.

"They're adorable mom," Rory commented, staring down at her new baby sister.

"You know, when Haley's born, we can dress the three of them in little matching outfits!" Lorelai exclaimed while Luke and Rory just rolled their eyes, they knew they were doomed. No one ever won a fight against Lorelai.


End file.
